Adding salt to meals ‘raises early death risk by quarter’

PEOPLE who add salt to food at the table are at higher risk of dying early from any medical cause, a study shows.

The research, involving more than 500,000 people, found those who always add salt have a 28% increased risk of early death compared with those who never or rarely add it.

The study, in the European Heart Journal, was led by Prof

KILLER Extra salt is risky habit

Lu Qi, of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. He said: “Even a modest reduction, by adding less or no salt to food at the table, is likely to result in substantial health benefits.

“Adding salt to foods at the table is a common eating behaviour that is directly related to an individual’s long-term preference for salty-tasting foods and habitual salt intake.”