A national effort to reduce salt intake could reap huge health benefits. Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that if Americans cut their salt consumption by about one third they could lower new cases of heart disease by up to 120,000. Anywhere from 54,000 to 99,000 heart attacks might be prevented and as many as 66,000 strokes could be averted.
The authors of the study use a computer-simulation model to project such numbers, so the data are somewhat speculative. Nevertheless, they conform to other analyses of sodium restriction. The investigators suggest that public health initiatives to reduce dietary salt intake could be as beneficial as efforts to stop smoking, lose weight, reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol. Of course such strategies are likely to run into resistance. When New York City’s mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed cracking down on salt in packaged and restaurant foods by 25 percent there was an outcry, especially from food manufacturers and chefs.
[New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 20, 2010]
The People's Perspective on Medicine