Is a diet low in salt as harmful to health as too consuming?

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In 2017, a video of Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe, known as Salt Bae, seasoned with a steak, has accumulated millions of hits on the Internet.

In the recording, Gökçe He places his swan-shaped hand and throws thick grains of salt, almost disdainfully, on a huge piece of meat.

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Despite warnings that this can affect our health, we are obsessed with salt.

But studies going in the opposite direction are gaining ground.

The salt It consists of ions of sodium and chloride. In 2.5 grams of salt, there is about 1 gram of sodium.

This substance is essential for the body to maintain the balance of liquids, carry oxygen and nutrients and allow the nerves to be stimulated by electricity.

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Experts recommend that adults not consume more than 6 grams of salt per day.

But only a quarter of our daily consumption comes from the salt we add to food.

The rest is hidden in the food we buy, like the bread, sauces, soups and some cereals.

In addition, on the labels of food products, manufacturers mention only sodium and not salt, which may lead us to believe that we are consuming less of this seasoning than we actually eat.

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"The general public is not aware and just thinks that sodium and salt are the same," said nutritionist May Simpkin.

Serious risks

Experts agree that the evidence against salt is convincing.

According to research, eating too much salt causes high blood pressure, which can lead to strokes and heart disease.

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Too much salt for a long time can cause a chronic hypertension, called hypertension, which causes 62% of all cerebrovascular accidents and 49% of coronary diseases, according to World Health Organization.

Meta-analysis of 13 studies published over 35 years revealed a risk of cardiovascular disease 17% higher and risk 23% higher cerebrovascular accidents by consuming an additional 5 grams of salt a day.

Salt reduction

As expected, reducing salt intake may have the opposite effect, as suggested by an analysis of data collected over eight years, by Francesco Cappuccio, professor of cardiovascular medicine and epidemiology at the University of California. University of Warwick, United Kingdom. .

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The results showed that a decrease in salt intake of 1.4 grams per day probably contributed to a drop in blood pressure.

In turn, this reduction resulted in a 42% decrease in fatal shots and 40% of deaths related to heart disease.

There is more evidence in other countries.

After the Japanese government launched a campaign to persuade people to consume less salt in the late 1960s, consumption went from 13.5 to 12 grams per day.

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During the same period, the blood pressure of the Japanese decreased and the number of stroke deaths was reduced by 80%.

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In Finland, daily salt intake increased from 12 grams in the late 1970s to 9 grams in 2002, and the number of deaths from stroke and heart disease decreased from 75% to 80% during the same period.

Personal differences

But the researchers also conclude that it is difficult to completely separate the effects of salt reduction from those of certain lifestyles.

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Those who are more aware of their salt intake are more likely to eat healthier, exercise more, smoke and drink less.

There are very few long-term randomized studies that compare people who eat a lot of salt with those who do not eat enough salt, because of funding requirements and ethical implications.

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Another complicating factor is that the effects of salt intake on blood pressure and heart health differ from one individual to another.

According to the studies, our sensitivity to salt varies from one person to another, depending on factors as varied as the Ethnicity, the l & # 39; age, the body mass index, the the health and the family history of hypertension.

People who are more sensitive to salt are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure.

Middle?

But now, some scientists argue that a low salt diet is a risk factor for the development of hypertension as well as for high consumption.

A meta-analysis revealed a relationship between low salt intake, cardiovascular disease and death.

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The researchers argued that consuming less than 5.6 grams or more than 12.5 grams per day was associated with negative health outcomes.

Another study involving over 170,000 people showed similar results: a link between a "low" salt intake, less than 7.5 grams, and an increased risk of cardiovascular events and deaths among sufferers of hypertension and without a "moderate" consumption of up to 12.5 grams per day (between 1.5 and 2.5 teaspoons of salt).

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Lead author of the study, Andrew Mente, epidemiologist in nutrition at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, concluded that reducing salt intake from moderate to high reduces the risk of hypertension, but there is no benefit to health.

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Increasing your low to moderate salt intake may also help.

"The discovery of a midpoint coincides with what one might expect from any essential nutrient … that at high levels, toxicity and at low levels appear gaps"says Mind" The optimal level is always in the middle ".

But not everyone agrees.

Potassium

Francesco Cappuccio, author of the eight-year study, believes that it is indisputable that consuming less salt reduces blood pressure in all people.

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The expert said the studies that lead to different findings, including that of Mind, are small and include participants already sick and based on erroneous data.

Sara Stanner, director of science at the British Foundation, says eating less salt reduces blood pressure in people with high blood pressure, as well as the risk of cardiac disease.

Few people consume salt as low as 3 grams, a quantity that some of these researches consider dangerously low, due to the amount of salt typically found in the foods we buy.

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Some, including Stanner, say that a diet rich in potassiumwho is in fruits, vegetables, nuts and dairy products, can help counteract the side effects of salt on blood pressure.

Ceu Mateus, professor of health economics at the University of Lancaster, UK, believes that we should be aware of the hidden salt in our diet.

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"Too much salt is really bad, but do not eliminate it completely from your diet," says Mateus.

Despite studies that warn of the potential dangers of a low-salt diet and differences in salt sensitivity among individuals, the most common finding is that too much salt significantly increases the blood pressure.

You can read the original article in English right here.

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