CDC study says no benefits to reducing salt, warns of too little salt in diet

A recent report commissioned by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reviewed the health benefits of reducing salt intake and the resulting news is that the quantities consumed by most Americans, is no longer considered a substantial health hazard.

photo Tricia Simpson

CDC study reported discussed that there is no benefit, and may be a danger, from reducing our salt intake below 1 tsp per day.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies report concludes that there is no solid evidence as to why Americans can’t consume up to 2,300 milligrams of sodium.

To translate this last study into teaspoons: the finding was that anything between 1-1/2 and 3 tsp of salt per day is just fine, and there were adverse effects from eating more than that or less than that. Most Americans who are not consciously restricting salt fall in this range (1-1/2 to 3 tsp). People who are on low-salt diets for medical reasons are getting as little as 1/2 tsp, and they’re well into the range where dearth of salt is harming them. The worst impact of low salt is on insulin sensitivity. Loss of insulin sensitivity is a big risk factor for all the diseases of old age.

Salt is the most common and readily available nonmetallic mineral in the world.

A study by lead researcher Dr. Niels Graudal, of Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, adds to a growing body of research questioning the long-term benefits of a low-salt diet. A review of seven previous studies published in the journal the Cochrane Library found that a moderate reduction in salt intake did not reduce a person’s risk of dying or having heart disease.

Read more: http://q13fox.com/2013/05/14/pass-the-salt-study-debunks-current-sodium-recommendations/#ixzz2YlbOCKay