Low Salt Diets Could Do More Harm Than Good

[Anonymous]

http://online.wsj.com/articles/recommended-salt-levels-could-do-more-harm-than-good-study-suggests-1407964274?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

A long-running debate over the merits of eating less salt escalated Wednesday when one of the most comprehensive studies yet suggested cutting back on sodium too much actually poses health hazards.

Current guidelines from U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization, the American Heart Association and other groups set daily dietary sodium targets between 1,500 and 2,300 milligrams or lower, well below the average U.S. daily consumption of about 3,400 milligrams.

The new study, which tracked more than 100,000 people from 17 countries over an average of more than three years, found that those who consumed fewer than 3,000 milligrams of sodium a day had a 27% higher risk of death or a serious event such as a heart attack or stroke in that period than those whose intake was estimated at 3,000 to 6,000 milligrams. Risk of death or other major events increased with intake above 6,000 milligrams.

[Anonymous]

Hmm, that's interesting. DH and I eat around 2000 mg salt per day. I recently switched to salted butter from unsalted, and regular chicken stock instead of low sodium, to increase our salt intake. Maybe I'll reevaluate and see what our daily intake is now, and if I need to add more salt to our diet.

[Anonymous]

Good news for pickle and pretzel lovers.

[Anonymous]

Not surprised at all. Low fat has been disproved, salt is the next to go. I get wicked headaches if I don't get enough salt on any given day.