Is salt better than its reputation?
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Brain more at risk than heart
Although researchers at McMaster University in Canada found a linear influence on salt consumption and hypertension (+2.8 mmHg increase per gram of salt/day) in their comparison, this was more likely to affect people who already consumed more than five grams of salt per day. Very high salt consumption led to a higher risk of stroke, mainly in China, where the average consumption was almost 14 g per day.
What was surprising, however, was the observation of a negative correlation between salt consumption and heart attack as well as between salt consumption and total mortality: the more salt, the lower the risk. If salt consumption was too low, the risk of heart attack and stroke again increased slightly. Franz Messerli therefore suspects that not all organs react equally sensitively to salt and that salt may even have a cardioprotective effect.
In order to be able to assess this even better, Messerli and his colleagues also analysed the relationship between salt consumption and life expectancy in 182 countries. It was found that salt consumption, except when excessive, was positively linked to life expectancy (the lower the consumption, the shorter the life expectancy and vice versa) - i.e. salt per se does not necessarily appear to be harmful to health. On the other hand, life expectancy was significantly reduced with low salt consumption, as partly defined in the recommendations.
More fruit and vegetables instead of less salt
The study also investigated the correlation between potassium content in food and heart attack, stroke and all-cause mortality. Regardless of salt consumption, potassium reduced all three risks. This means that even patients with a high salt intake can reduce their risk with additional potassium. Potassium is found mainly in fruits, nuts and vegetables.
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