Salt and heart disease not related

LONDON: If you think you can lower the risk of heart disease by cutting down on salt, you're wrong if researchers are right.

British researchers have carried out a study and found no conclusive proof of a link between salt and heart disease, which dismisses the theory that salt can cause strokes and cardiovascular problems as "an argument of hope over reason".

"The evidence that salt is bad for you is non-existent. The fact that some foods, such as crisps or pizza, have a high salt content is no reason not to eat them. It will make no difference to your health or to how long you live," according to lead researcher Dr Joel Dunning.

In fact, Dr Dunning and his team at the James Cook University Hospital came to the conclusion after studying 462 research papers from around the world.

The researchers found that it was impossible to prove a connection between salt and heart disease because of a "lack of adequately powered randomised trials or observational studies conducted with sufficient rigour".

However, they support the view that eating less salt may benefit people with "abnormally" high blood pressure -- the findings have been published in the latest edition of the 'Journal Of Interactive Cardiovascular And Thoracic Surgery'.

Dr Dunning's conclusions were also supported by other researchers in this field.

"Even the most supposedly compelling evidence, published by researchers in the US earlier this year, was wholly unconvincing for anyone taking a dispassionate view of this issue," Robert Matthews of Aston University told the Daily Mail .

So, you can keep eating the butties.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com