Should You Be Eating More Salt?

By Paige Fowler

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High levels of salt intake may not be the smoking gun for health risks we once thought

You might have heard that slashing salt in your diet is essential for lowering your blood pressure and improving heart health. After all, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends limiting daily sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day if you're under the age of 50, and 1,500 mg per day if you're over 50. while The National Health and Medical Research Centre (NHMRC) advises that Australian adults should aim to consume no more than 4g of salt a day (or 1,600 mg of sodium) in order to prevent chronic disease.

But now, a new finding suggests that the CDC's recommendations may be too low. In an analysis of 25 different studies, University of Copenhagen Hospital researchers found that people whose sodium consumption was closer to the CDC’s guidelines actually had a higher risk of death than those whose intake more closely matched what the average western adult consumes each day: between 2,645 to 4,945 mg of sodium. (People who downed more than that had a higher risk of mortality, too.)

What gives? “In 2014, we’re looking at hypertension a little differently than we did in 2004,” says Dr Aryan Aiyer, a cardiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Heart and Vascular Institute. “The link between sodium and high blood pressure was first investigated many years ago and the recommendations were more an extension of logical thinking—the lower the better—than actual evidence.”

Today, research suggests that lower sodium and lower blood pressure may not necessarily be better. “With too little sodium, the body doesn’t retain as much fluid, which puts you at risk for dehydration and low blood pressure,” Dr Aiyer says. Hypotension can cause issues such as light-headedness, dizziness, loss of consciousness, and more. In fact, researchers are reevaluating blood pressure control entirely. Last year the Joint National Committee revised its guidelines and now recommends treating certain patients at a higher blood pressure level than it used to suggest starting medications.

So does this mean fast food should be back on your daily menu? Keep dreaming. “Salt is so ubiquitous in foods that if you’re a healthy, normal-weight guy who exercises regularly, you certainly don’t have to add it to your diet," Dr Aiyer says. "But you probably don’t need to worry about how much you’re getting either." However, if you’re older, obese, have high or borderline-high blood pressure and a family history of hypertension or heart disease, then cutting back on your sodium intake can still make a difference, says Dr Aiyer. Talk to your doctor and get his or her recommendations.

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