Research found those who always add salt have a 28 percent increased risk of dying prematurely compared with those who never or rarely add it. The researchers also calculated that by the age of 50, 1.5 years and 2.28 years were knocked off the life expectancy of women and men, respectively, who added salt to their food.
Chloe MacArthur, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We need some salt in our diet, but eating too much may lead to high blood pressure, which in turn raises the risk of heart attack and stroke.”
New calculations for the study, led by Professor Lu Qi, ofTulane University School of Public Health andTropical Medicine in New Orleans, and published in the European Heart Journal, suggest one person in every 100 who add salt to food may die young.
