Report questions benefits of salt reduction

Saundra Young
CNN Health
14 May 2013
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/14/report-questions-benefits-of-salt-reduction/

summary:
For some time, health groups and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans have advised Americans in general, as well as some specific groups, to limit their salt intake in their daily diets. On average, Americans eat 3400 mg of salt a day, a significantly higher amount than recommended, thanks to the abundance of sodium in most prepared foods. The current recommended amount of salt intake for one day is 2300 mg, although the American Heart Association suggests reducing this number even more, to 1500 mg a day. This is because high sodium intake is strongly associated with high blood pressure (hypertension), which in turn is associated with heart disease. However, the independent Institute of Medicine (IOM) has recently released a report at the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looking over studies from 2012 investigating direct connections between salt intake and detrimental health effects, like heart disease and death. These researchers found that while lowering salt intake below the recommended 2300 mg/day to 1500 mg/day can actually be harmful to a person's health, leading to heart attack or death, there is not enough evidence to clearly state that reducing salt intake actually increases or decreases chances of heart disease. While lowering salt levels from very high to moderate can be beneficial, reducing them to the point of some recommendations may be a bad idea. The IOM suggests that researchers should conduct more studies to clarify the effects of lower salt intake in all Americans.

connection:
This article connects to our study of nutrition, as we have learned about Americans' excessive salt intake compared to recommended levels, which can lead to negative health effects. We have also studied blood pressure and hypertension, which can injure the heart and blood vessels. The heart muscles may expand considerably, weakening and losing propulsive power. At the same time, the increased pressure on the arteries can cause tears, which speed up atherosclerosis, eventually causing potential heart attack.