Reducing Salt Intake Helps Heart As Much As Quitting Smoking, Study Indicates

by Jeff Wright

Americans who reduce their salt intake by half a teaspoon daily or about three grams would suffer fewer heart attacks and strokes and achieve the same health benefits as quitting smoking, according to a study published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The heart benefits of reduced salt intake are on par with the benefits of population-wide reductions in tobacco use, obesity, and cholesterol levels, said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD., who used a computer simulation of heart diseases in the U.S. adult population. The computer model indicated more than 800,000 life years could be saved per one-gram reduction in salt.

But cutting out that much salt from Americans’ diets won’t be easy. On average, men ingest 10.4 grams of salt daily, and women, 7.3 grams, mostly from processed foods. The goal is to reduce salt intake to 2.7 grams daily, which is recommended for about 70 percent of adults, and 5.8 grams for adults whose risk of having a heart attack or stroke is low, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“It is clear that we need to lower salt intake, but individuals find it hard to make substantial cuts because most salt comes from processed foods, not from the salt shaker,” Bibbins-Domingo said. “Our study suggests that the food industry and those who regulate it could contribute substantially to the health of the nation by achieving even small reductions in the amount of salt in these processed foods.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 77 percent of salt eaten by Americans comes from processed foods; 6 percent from salt shakers, and five percent used while cooking.

Sodium can increase blood pressure by creating extra fluid in the body, which strains blood vessels leading to the heart, according to the Blood Pressure Association. Eventually, arteries can burst or become completely clogged.

The study results, published Jan. 20, indicated that the half-teaspoon per day salt reduction could prevent nearly 92,000 deaths, 99,000 heart attacks, and 66,000 strokes annually.