Contrary to the popular thought, maintaining low-sodium diet may not be healthy after all. According to recent study, cutting down your daily salt intake could actually be harmful to your body.
Recent global study conducted by the researchers of the Population Health Research Institute of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Science found low-sodium diets actually increase risk of cardiovascular disease and death compared to diets with average sodium consumption.
The new study was published in The Lancet Medical Journal on Friday.
For years, people have been told to
avoid eating too much sodium, in believing that it could cause damage in your
kidneys or may experience hypertension. But according to the lead author Andrew
Mente, there’s also another message that isn’t usually heard: “make sure to get
enough sodium”.
Salt is an essential nutrient and is
needed by the body, said Mente, a principal investigator of the Population
Health Research Institute and an associate professor of clinical epidemiology
and biostatistics at McMaster G. DeGroote School of Medicine in Hamilton, Ont.
If the body doesn’t get enough of it,
health problems could result, including an increase risk of heart attack and
stroke.
Maintaining a moderate intake of
sodium each day is the healthiest choice especially for those who are suffering
from hypertension.
If you eat fruits and vegetables,
exercise, minimize processed foods and don’t smoke, “you’ll be fine, you don’t
even have to think about sodium,” he said.
According to the study, a high-sodium
diet is only linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease on people
with high blood pressure. For people who have normal blood pressure, the high
sodium diet was not associated with cardiovascular disease.
“Given that lower sodium is related to
lower blood pressure, they assume that that’s going to translate into lower
cardiovascular disease,” he sais, speaking of past researchers. “It turns out
these assumptions are wrong.”
Source: CBC | Google News
Share It To Your Friends!
Loading...
