Salt is maybe not as bad for you as previously thought! A six-year European study suggests that, while salt did cause "a slight uptick in systolic blood pressure" over time, their findings didn't really support a "society-wide cutback in salt intake." In fact, people on low-salt diets were more likely to die from a stroke or heart attack. Rejoice! Pass the instant ramen!
But wait, that's totally different from what pretty much every other study ever has said. The American Heart Association told USA Today that it bases its recommendations on "the many scientific studies" that suggest a link between salt intake and heart attacks and strokes. Harvard has questioned the new study's research methods, and the CDC questioned the results as well.
So what's the deal? It turns out both sodium intake and blood pressure can vary greatly, so correlations between the two are similarly difficult to assess. So stick to your low-salt diet! Or maybe don't!
· New Study Questions Whether We Should All Be Ducking Salt [WSJ]
· Lower Salt Intake Could Be Riskier Than Thought [USAToday]
· All Health Coverage on Eater [-E-]
[Photo: chrisgold / ENY Flickr Pool]