How good for your health is cutting salt from your diet? Chinese scientists try to find the answer
- Most people eat too much salt, but a study conducted in a part of China where the problem is especially serious suggests that reducing consumption by a quarter could halve death rates
- Study conducted in Shandong province finds a fifth of heart deaths there were linked to high-sodium diets
Scientists have calculated that cutting salt consumption by around a quarter could halve the number of deaths from sodium-induced heart disease, according to a study conducted in a part of China with a well-above-average number of deaths linked to high-salt diets.
The study, the first to try to quantify what the impact of reducing salt consumption by a defined amount would be, was conducted in the eastern province of Shandong.
It found that nearly a fifth of deaths from heart disease in the province, one of China’s most populous, could be attributed to a high-sodium diet compared with a global average of 9.5 per cent.
Shandong’s cuisine is characterised by high levels of sodium, which has long been linked to an increased risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
The researchers estimated that cutting salt consumption from 12.5 grams per day to nine grams, it could have almost halved the number of adult deaths from heart disease linked to high-sodium diets over the study period based on its effect on blood pressure.
