Co-Authored by Arun Chockalingam
Americans by and large consume too much salt, more than twice the one teaspoon they should each day. Is reducing salt important for good health? The answer is a resounding YES!
While most people inherently know that reducing salt is good for you, confusion on this topic has probably arisen from interpretations of a recent Cochrane Review. An important contribution to advancing science, the review analyzed seven studies (6,489 patients) to see if advice to reduce dietary salt had any direct impact on cardiovascular disease and death. The reviewers concluded that there was not enough information to understand the direct effect of the advice to cut down on salt intake on cardiovascular disease. In fact, the Cochrane Review press release mentions that they would need to have data from at least 18,000 individuals for more definitive results.
Let us dispel any confusion there may be. There is a direct correlation between salt and hypertension -- and hypertension leads to cardiovascular disease.
Overwhelming Scientific Evidence
1. Increased salt intake may lead to hypertension and reducing salt can lower blood pressure in many people. A large number of studies show that salt 
intake is the major factor increasing population blood pressure. The World Action on Salt and Health, WASH, believes that the evidence linking salt to blood
 pressure is as strong as that linking cigarette smoking to cancer and heart disease.
2. There is a direct link between hypertension and cardiovascular disease. In fact, raised blood pressure is the most important factor involved in the development of cardiovascular disease, and accounts for 60 percent of all strokes and 50 percent of all heart disease (WASH). According to the World Hypertension League, reducing blood pressure can lead to a 35-40 percent reduction in stroke and a 20-25 percent reduction in heart disease.
The health benefits of salt reduction should really not be debated. Instead, we should be asking: What are the best ways to reduce salt intake?
Beyond Table Salt
Many people think that not adding table salt to prepared food is the best way to reduce salt intake. Many people may not know that salt added at the table and to food cooked at home accounts for just 5-10 percent of the salt consumed every day. According to the FDA, about 75 percent of our total salt intake comes from salt added to processed foods by manufacturers and to cooked food in restaurants, cafeterias etc. Salt is added as a preservative to many foods, so we often consume salt without even knowing. Reduction of salt in packaged and restaurant foods is the most important way to reduce dietary salt.
Taking Bold Action
The UK has been a pioneer in salt reduction and has been successful in working with the food industry to gradually reduce salt in packaged foods so that it is not discernible to the public. Many countries have followed in the UK's footsteps and are making great strides in salt reduction.
We have already seen important developments in the U.S. In a 2010 report, the Institute of Medicine called for national action to phase down salt, asking the U.S. government to set standards and food manufacturers and restaurants to gradually reduce the amount of salt they use. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and health officials have pushed for a nationwide plan to reduce the amount of salt in packaged and restaurant foods by 25 percent over the next five years, and Walmart's voluntary pledge to reduce salt and sugar in the foods it sells is also noteworthy. The U.S. government's formation of an Interagency Working Group (between FTC, FDA, CDC and USDA), which developed a set of guidelines to improve the nutritional content of foods marketed directly to children, is perhaps the most promising step we have seen yet.
Increase Our Salt IQ
It is widely recognized that government action with the cooperation of the food and beverage industry is the best way to reduce salt. But commitments are not enough: we want to see action and results. However, there is also something we as individuals can do. We must each learn to read food labels more clearly and to reach for fresh foods and produce more often. We must learn that baked goods, soy sauce, frozen dinners and even some antacids can be high in salt. We must learn that a lunch of canned soup may contain a higher salt content than a hamburger and fries.
A "Best Buy" for Fighting NCDs
A recent Lancet article calls for a reduction in salt consumption as one of the top priority actions for the non-communicable disease (NCD) crisis. They say that reduction of population-wide salt consumption by only 15 percent -- through mass-media campaigns and reformulation of food products by the food industry -- would avert up to 8.5 million deaths in 23 high-burden countries over 10 years.
In fact, the WHO calls salt reduction one of the "Best Buys" in tackling NCDs because of its feasibility and cost-effectiveness. The two most important actions to combat NCDs -- full implementation of tobacco control and salt reduction -- are affordable in all countries and are estimated to cost about 20 U.S. cents per person per year in China and India.
1.5 billion people in the world today have hypertension. Hypertension leads to cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer globally. Reducing salt is a simple prevention tool that I believe we must implement effectively.
Dr. Arun Chockalingam is the Secretary-General of the World Hypertension League. Nalini Saligram, Ph.D., is the Founder and CEO of Arogya World.
Follow Nalini Saligram on Twitter: www.twitter.com/arogyaworld
"may" and "can"...man, there's some solid conclusions...
stay away from processed table salt. there are many better choices, look for something that hasn't been over processed like himalayan pink...not getting enough salt is also very dangerous. salt is an electrolyte and your body needs it to function properly. health or discover magazine had a terrific article on salt deficiency about 10 years ago...of course i can't find a link to it because it has been buried by 'salt is bad' information...
"CONCLUSIONS:
In this population-based cohort, systolic blood pressure, but not diastolic pressure, changes over time aligned with change in sodium excretion, but this association did not translate into a higher risk of hypertension or CVD complications. Lower sodium excretion was associated with higher CVD mortality."
Her livelihood depends, among other things, on a "direct correlation" between salt consumption and hypertension. Therefore, such a correlation exists, regardless of any evidence to the contrary.
It is sodium.
The form in which it is ingested makes all the difference.
The sodium in processed foods and table salt that has been refined/extracted through high heat is unusable by the body. It does not disolve, stays in the body and starts the arterial compromise that leads to HBP and other diseases.
Sodium in a usable form, is good for you and, found naturally in almost all real food.
So, put down the hot pockets, ramen noodles, canned soups etc., and eat more fresh fruits, veggies, and grains, along with some real(non hormone, non antibiotic) meats if you desire and you wont have to worry about the "salt" controversy.
Here is a better argument to save lives:
Crashes are absolutely proven to the most common cause of death from airplane accidents. If we took 15% of the seats out of every airplane and limited private planes to pilots only, or simply reduced the world's air traffic (especially military), we could eliminate nearly 15% of all deaths from airplane accidents.
However, in the sodium argument, everyone keeps skipping the proven connection they claim exists. They always say things like, "well known side effect," "most people inherently know," "lots of studies show," "and "overwhelming scientific evidence," without actually refuting the Cochran Review and many previous findings that, "reviewers concluded that there was not enough information to understand the direct effect of the advice to cut down on salt intake."
Kidney stones are very painful and can require surgery.
Kidney failure can result in the need for dialysis. During dialysis your blood is taken from your body, put through a machine to clean it and put back into your body. Kidney transplants are often necessary because continued dialysis is too hard on your body to do indefinitely.
High blood pressure puts stress on your arteries and heart, and can lead to heart attacks and strokes.
nonsense, if that were true we would expect to see per capita deaths from CV diseases higher in countries with higher CHO consumption, such as Asian countries, however that is not the case. Also one could look at the Kitavans and Okinawans who derive a huge portion of their daily caloric intake from CHO and not riddled with diseases
I'll let Gary Taubes provide the analysis:
http://www.stat.berkeley.edu/users/rice/Stat2/salt.html