Adding Salt to Food Linked to Higher Risk of Premature Death
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Adding salt to food at the table was linked to a higher risk of premature death and a lower life expectancy, independent of diet, lifestyle, socioeconomic level, and pre-existing diseases, in a new study. In the study of more than 500,000 people, compared with those who never or rarely added salt, those who always added salt to their food had a 28% increased risk of dying prematurely (defined as death before the age of 75 years). Results also showed that adding salt to food was linked to a lower life expectancy. At the age of 50 years, life expectancy was reduced by 1.5 years in women and by 2.28 years in men who always added salt to their food compared with those who never, or rarely, did. However, these increased risks appeared to be attenuated with increasing intakes of high-potassium foods (vegetables and fruits).
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@aditi In the paper the researchers explain that the relationship between dietary salt intake and health remains a subject of longstanding debate, with previous studies on the association between sodium intake and mortality having shown conflicting results. They attribute the inconsistent results to the low accuracy of sodium measurement, noting that sodium intake varies widely from day to day, but the majority of previous studies have largely relied on a single day’s urine collection or dietary survey for estimating the sodium intake, which is inadequate to assess an individual’s usual consumption levels.