Low-Salt Diet May Be Harmful To Your Heart, New Study Finds

Limiting your salt consumption may actually be bad for your heart, a new study revealed. Eating food with less salt is now said to cause heat concerns like stroke and other related ailments.

The Nation reported that a global study done by the McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences revealed that the opposite of the common belief that salt is bad for one's health may be true. In a turnaround, researchers said that consumption of less salt could harm the heart.

Respondents from 49 countries

The research looked into the salt intake of 130,000 people in 49 different countries and its correlation with heart diseases. The surprising finding of the study said that people consuming a small amount of salt are more prone to have stroke, heart attack and heart-related illnesses.

Lead study author Dr Andrew Mente said the findings of their research is really important for people especially for those who have high blood pressure. "While our data highlights the importance of reducing high salt intake in people with hypertension (high blood pressure), it does not support reducing salt intake to low levels," Mente added.

Debunks common knowledge on salt

According to Daily Mail, this research debunks the commonly accepted fact that too much salt is harmful to a person's body. There are even limits that health organizations impose to people to avoid health risks linked to too much salt including heart problems.

In the United Kingdom, the National Health Service advises people to consume only 6g of salt daily while in the US, the limit is around 2.3 grams a day. People have gotten used to these standards that a new study with a different claim proves confusing.

However, it was explained in the research that high consumption of salt is only dangerous to people with hypertension. There was about 10 percent of the respondents who were suffering from hypertension and was consuming a lot of salt.