"Pass the salt: Study finds average consumption safe for heart health: Public health strategies should be based on best evidence." 2014;371:612-623. Similarly, as mean sodium intake increased, so did risks of overall cardiovascular events and stroke. Instead of focusing on sodium, we should “instead focus on improving the overall quality of the diet and get people to eat more potassium-rich foods like fruits and vegetables, dairy, potatoes, beans, nuts—that stuff.”, In communities with very high average sodium intakes, like many in China, it would likely be beneficial to reduce sodium consumption, he added. That advice regarding sodium, however, is at odds with recommendations from the World Health Organization, which advises consuming fewer than 2 grams per day, and from the American Heart Association, which recommends eating no more than 2.3 grams per day, with an ideal limit of 1.5 grams. For this new analysis, Mente and colleagues looked at data from 18 of the 21 countries participating in the PURE study on adults ages 35 to 70 without cardiovascular disease at baseline. Register, Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. The information for the research article came from the ongoing, international Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study run by the PHRI. With both sides of the sodium debate seemingly entrenched, the question becomes: how will this be resolved? Endowed Chair and Head, Division of Infectious Diseases & Co-Director, Center for Infectious Diseases, Copyright © 2020 European Society of Cardiology. The PURE study is one of the largest dietary studies in the world. {eq}\begin{align*}{\rm{\% }}\;{\rm{Na}} &= \dfrac{{{\rm{Mass}}\;{\rm{of}}\;{\rm{Na}}}}{{{\rm{Mass}}\;{\rm{of}}\;{\rm{NaCl}}}} \times 100\\ &= \dfrac{{{\rm{22}}{\rm{.99}}\;{\rm{g}}}}{{{\rm{58}}{\rm{.44}}\;{\rm{g}}}} \times 100\\ &= 39.34\;\% \end{align*} © copyright 2003-2020 Study.com. Crafted with love by Forge and Higher potassium excretion was associated with a decreased risk for the composite outcome compared with excretion estimated at fewer than 1.5 g/day. 2018;392:456-458. Properties and production. “I have yet to see a patient who is willing to do so and can do so over weeks, months, and years. The same day the medical journal published the piece looking at the effect of sodium (salt) intake on cardiovascular disease, The Guardian: International Edition wrote about the study results. "The World Health Organization recommends consumption of less than two grams of sodium -- that's one teaspoon of salt -- a day as a preventative measure against cardiovascular disease, but there is little evidence in terms of improved health outcomes that individuals ever achieve at such a low level," said Andrew Mente, first author of the study and a PHRI researcher. Disclosure: See the full studies for relevant financial disclosures. TCTMD is produced by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF). Hamilton, ON L8L 2X2 Our review provides a counterpoint to the current recommendation for low sodium intake and suggests that a specific low sodium intake target (e.g. The analysis supports the idea that consuming about 3 to 5 grams of sodium per day is the “sweet spot” in terms of cardiovascular risk. The Prospective Urban Rural (PURE) study, led by investigators from the Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, followed more than 100,000 people for nearly four years. The large, international study also shows that even for those individuals there is good news. It is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice. The new research, led by PHRI with research colleagues in 21 countries, shows that for the vast majority of individuals, sodium consumption does not increase health risks except for those who eat more than five grams a day, the equivalent of 2.5 teaspoons of salt. “What our findings do is they reaffirm our previous findings . “Lowering sodium can improve health and even save lives. McMaster University. He adds, “there is no convincing evidence that people with moderate or average sodium intake need to reduce their sodium intake for prevention of heart disease and stroke.”. ScienceDaily. The analysis supports the idea that consuming about 3 to 5 grams of sodium per day is the “sweet spot” in terms of cardiovascular risk. New hope for targeted treatment of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Aspirin Monotherapy vs. DAPT after TAVI: Is Less More? But otherwise I think we can be pretty liberal in terms of the amount of salt we consume.”, Not surprisingly, the AHA disagrees. The study followed 94,000 people, aged 35 to 70, for an average of eight years in communities from 18 countries around the world and found there an associated risk of cardiovascular disease and strokes only where the average intake is greater than five grams of sodium a day. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180809202057.htm (accessed October 25, 2020). “Our study provides an epidemiologic comparison of groups that consume different levels of sodium, and it does not provide information on the effect on clinical outcomes of reducing sodium intake,” the authors wrote. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader: Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks: Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Pass the salt: Study finds average consumption safe for heart health: Public health strategies should be based on best evidence. Lancet. While concluding that sodium intake within the 3 g/day to 6 g/day range was associated with lower risk for mortality and CV events than either higher or lower intake, the researchers cautioned against interpreting their results as a mandate to lower sodium intake.