Sodium in diet
The global study, published on Friday in the journal Lancet, was conducted by a research team from the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University, concluded that low-sodium diets lead to a greater chance of heart disease and death than a diet of ‘average’ sodium intake.
But the lead author of the study, Andrew Mente of McMaster, said there is nothing to be worried about. Mente said most people in Canada are getting enough salt, an essential nutrient that helps regulate fluid intake and control muscles and nerves, and that eating fruits and vegetables, exercising, not smoking and having little in the way of processed foods is the key to a healthy heart.
His advice is to “follow an overall healthy diet, and don’t be concerned about sodium.” If you do he said “you’ll be fine,” adding that it “appears that low sodium truly is harmful and we need to be cautious before recommending low levels for the entire population.”
Guidelines low
Because excessive sodium consumption has been shown to be of danger to the heart by dramatically raising blood pressure, some have been excessive in their zeal to reduce salt from their diet, he said.
After examining data from over 130,000 people from 49 countries, Mente and his team found that too little sodium leads to increased risk of heart disease and death. He said that between 3 and 6 grams of sodium daily is the optimum amount to consume.
Currently, Health Canada calls for a sodium consumption level under 2.3 grams daily and Mente insists the “current guidelines need to be updated to reflect contemporary research.”
