People who add salt to their foods are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease — regardless of whether they also follow elements of a diet intended to help prevent high blood pressure — according to a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Eating too much salt is widely known to contribute to high blood pressure, but salt consumption has also been linked to other health problems. A high salt intake has been shown to interfere with the immune system and contribute to inflammation — an effect that could contribute to many different chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. And, in fact, a higher salt intake has been linked to higher blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Using a salt substitute in place of regular salt has been shown to reduce the risk of having a stroke in people with an elevated stroke risk. And adding more salt to meals has even been linked to a higher risk of dying prematurely.
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For the latest study, researchers looked at the relationship between adding salt at mealtimes and cardiovascular disease and events — including ischemic heart disease (related to reduced blood flow), stroke, and heart failure — in 176,570 participants in a large general health study called the UK Biobank. The researchers also wanted to find out whether the relationship between salting foods and heart disease was any different depending on the overall quality of participants’ diets, namely how closely their eating patterns followed the recommendations of the DASH diet — a diet developed to help reduce or prevent high blood pressure and improve overall cardiovascular health.
Adding salt at meals linked to increased cardiovascular risk
During a follow-up period that lasted a median of 11.8 years, participants experienced a total of 9.963 cardiovascular events, including 6,993 cases of ischemic heart disease, 2,007 cases of stroke, and 2,269 cases of heart failure. After adjusting for various factors known to contribute to or predict cardiovascular disease (such as age, sex, and health history) as well as for participants’ DASH diet scores (a modified score was used that didn’t take sodium intake into account), the researchers found that participants who reported adding less salt to their meals had a lower risk for cardiovascular disease. Compared with participants who reported “always” adding salt to foods, those who “usually” added salt were 19% less likely to experience cardiovascular disease, those who “sometimes” added salt were 21% less likely to experience cardiovascular disease, and those who “never/rarely” added salt were 23% less likely to experience cardiovascular disease.
The strongest link between adding salt to meals and cardiovascular disease was seen for heart failure, followed by ischemic heart disease. No link was seen between adding salt to meals and stroke. Not surprisingly, participants who reported “never/rarely” adding salt to meals who also most closely followed the DASH diet had the lowest levels of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers concluded that adding salt at mealtimes was linked to a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, independent of overall diet quality as measure by participants’ DASH diet score. These results emphasize the importance of reducing salt intake to help prevent heart disease, even for people who are already following other heart-related dietary recommendations.
Want to learn more about eating well with diabetes? Read “Strategies for Healthy Eating,” “Improving Your Recipes: One Step at a Time,” and “What Is the Best Diet for Diabetes?”
Want to learn more about protecting your heart? Read “Be Heart Smart: Know Your Numbers,” “Does Diabetes Hurt Your Heart?” “Fight Off Heart Disease With These Five Heart-Healthy Foods” and “Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease.”
