The idea that diets containing a high proportion of processed foods, which contain large amounts of hidden salt, are bad for health has become well established. Specifically, high salt intakes are associated with raised blood pressure, which is a major cause of heart disease and death. Sustain Member Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) has had great success in highlighting this issue and persuading consumers and the food industry to reduce salt levels.
However, a new, large-scale study published in the Lancet has challenged the claim that low-salt diets benefit everyone, and suggests that in some cases they may even increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The research found that while reducing sodium intake was beneficial for people with high blood pressure, for people with normal blood pressure levels, it could have the opposite effect: for these people, low (as opposed to moderate) sodium intake was linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
CASH has disputed some of the study's conclusions, pointing out that in cases where patients were very ill or had died, it was illness that was causing low salt intake, and not the other way round. CASH told Foodnavigator magazine that the evidence for high salt intake causing ill-health was overwhelming, and that public health messages should not be revised.
Read about Sustain's campaign work to keep excess salt out of children's diets here.
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
