Can Adding Salt Reduce Your Longevity?
I’ll admit it – I always add salt to my food, sometimes before I even taste it. Yes, I know, that’s likely not a good thing and it doesn’t seem like I’m the only one. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 90% of Americans two years or older exceeds the recommended 2,300 mg consumption of sodium (one teaspoon of table salt) each day. So, how are our excessive salty habits affecting our lifespan?
Salt and Longevity: What’s The Link? In a study published in the European Heart Journal, researchers set out to examine the link between frequently adding salt to your food, and the risk of premature death (which was defined as dying before age 75.). The researchers used data from the UK Biobank – an international health resource, with a database that contained the medical information of over 500,000 volunteers throughout England, Wales, and Scotland between 2006 and 2010.
After adjusting for factors that could affect mortality in 501 379 participants, such as age, smoking and alcohol habits as well as chronic condition diagnosis, the researchers then followed the participants for an average of nine years.
Excerpted from Longevity
