New Study Says Cutting Salt May Not Be So Good For You

How many times have you been told to watch how much salt you consume or to cut back on how much salt you use? That’s because it’s been widely believed that lower salt intake, equates lower blood pressure and heart attack and stroke risk. Well a new study has raised serious questions about the merits of doing that. Researchers found that while cutting salt intake may reduce blood pressure, it may cause some other negative effects.

The study which was done by Danish Scientist Niels Graudal, takes into account the results from 167 previous studies, and suggests that a low sodium diet has an unremarkable effect on actual blood pressure in persons with normal blood pressure. The effect on persons with high blood pressure was more significant (3.5%). The study focussed primarily on European and American subjects, but Asians and Blacks with reduced sodium diets showed more marked reductions in blood pressure.

Unfortunately the study found that the reduction in blood pressure came with an increase in Cholesterol levels which is linked to heart disease. While the good scientists caution that this is not an excuse to consume more salt, it does confirm that a moderate amount of salt in a normal diet won’t kill you. Reducing salt consumption they say, “has both positive and negative effects that might not reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.”