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You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link. The average intake of salt varies across Europe, ranging from between 8 to 12 g per day.
Men will often consume more salt than women as they tend to consume more food overall. Figure 1. Estimated salt intake of men and women across European countries. For Ireland and German salt intake was calculated using spot urinary sodium which means the result may be less reliable.
Blood pressure is the measure of the force the heart uses to pump blood around the body. There are two different measures, systolic blood pressure the highest pressure on blood vessels when the heart pushes blood out , and diastolic blood pressure the lowest pressure on blood vessels when the heart relaxes between beats. In , an estimated 1. Reducing salt intake remains an important public health strategy to decrease levels further.
As with salt intake, the prevalence of high blood pressure tends to be higher for men than for women figure 2. The exact reason for this difference is not fully understood, but higher intakes of salt may be partly to blame. Figure 2. Normally our kidneys do a good job at regulating the sodium and water levels of our blood.
However, for many of us, eating too much salt can disturb this balance, causing sodium levels in the blood to increase. This leads our body to hold onto more water and increases both the fluid surrounding our cells and the volume of blood in our bloodstream.
As blood volume increases, the pressure on our blood vessels begins to increase and our heart needs to work harder to move blood around our body. Over time this extra strain can lead to stiffening of blood vessels and increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
There is consistent evidence that moderate reductions i. It is important to note that salt is not the only lifestyle factor that can influence our blood pressure. Other factors such as eating enough potassium, maintaining a healthy body weight , not smoking, and being physically active are also important when it comes to reducing blood pressure.
You can find 7 lifestyle tips to help reduce blood pressure here. At an individual level, the benefit of reducing salt on blood pressure may be small. The newer research adds to a larger discussion that has evolved over the last few years about salt intake but does not replace the existing evidence. Much of the research that questions sodium intake and health problems relies on flawed data, including inaccurate measurements of sodium intake and an overemphasis on studying sick people rather than the general population.
Often, the studies with paradoxical findings are poorly designed to examine the relationship between sodium intake and the health outcome of interest.
The American Heart Association published a Science Advisory in February that discussed the problems with many of the studies that question how sodium is related to heart disease.
One estimate suggested that if the U. Another estimate projected that achieving this goal would reduce CVD deaths by anywhere from , to nearly 1. Written by American Heart Association editorial staff and reviewed by science and medicine advisers. See our editorial policies and staff. Eat Smart. American Heart Association Cookbooks. Nutrition Basics. Healthy For Good: Spanish Infographics.
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