Benefit of a low salt diet questioned

A LOW salt diet might not lower blood pressure after all, suggests new research.

The study that followed more than 2,600 men and women for 16 years found that consuming less salt, also known as sodium, wasn’t associated with lower blood pressure.

The findings call into question the salt limits recommended by current dietary guidelines.

Study author Dr Lynn Moore, an associate professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine in the US, said: “We saw no evidence that a diet lower in sodium had any long-term beneficial effects on blood pressure.

“Our findings add to growing evidence that current recommendations for sodium intake may be misguided.”

Dr Moore added: “Our new results support these other studies that have questioned the wisdom of low dietary sodium intakes in the general population.”