Don't eat too light?181 national study: The saltier you eat, the longer you may live?

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"Don't you think you should eat more salt so you have the strength to work? The company's main goal is to provide the best possible service to its customers.

Auntie Wu is 58 years old and has lived in the countryside before.

When the government's first report came out, it was a very good idea to have a new one.

In the last month, she has been feeling dizzy and panicky from time to time. She thought she was too tired to rest from bringing up her children and didn't take it too seriously. One day, she was cooking and suddenly fainted when her eyes went black, and her son rushed her to the hospital. The first time I saw her, I saw her blood pressure spike to 180/110 mmHg, and she was diagnosed with hypertension.

In understanding her past history, it turned out that Auntie Wu's family grew up in poor conditions and needed to do all kinds of physical work. She was always taught to eat more salt to have the strength to work, and she puts a lot of salt in her cooking every day, and now she has a heavy taste.

The doctor said that Auntie Wu's high blood pressure was related to her usual high-salt diet and told her to change this habit as soon as possible, otherwise it would be difficult to control her blood pressure well. This makes Auntie Wu very confused, she has been taught to eat more salt since she was a child to have the strength to work, how come she is still bad now?

I. 181 national studies: The saltier you eat, the longer you live?

There was a study published in the European Heart Journal, conducted by the University of Bern in Sweden, in which researchers counted data from 181 countries/regions and analyzed them and found that increased sodium intake was associated with longer life expectancy and lower all-cause mortality.

After adjusting for influences such as BMI, the researchers found that a 2.5g increase in salt (1g sodium) per day increased life expectancy at birth by 2.6 years and by another 0.3 years at age 60, and all-cause mortality decreased by 131 per 100,000 people. That means the saltier you eat, the longer you live.

So does this mean that the more salt you eat, the better it is for your health?

Of course not. The study was based on excluding the effects of BMI and GDP by country, a conclusion that is not rigorous and not accepted by the medical community. Also, the authors of the paper clearly state that the study is only observational and cannot be used as a guide for nutritional interventions.

2. The truth: The saltier you eat, the more harmful it is

In 2019, the authoritative journal The Lancet published a study showing that in 2017, China topped the global list of deaths caused by dietary problems in 195 countries and territories worldwide! And a high-salt diet is one of the top three factors causing the highest mortality rate. Salt is an essential condiment in life that makes food taste better, but too much salt can also bring a range of harm to the body.

1, not good for cardiovascular health

High salt intake can cause the body's water-sodium balance to be disrupted, increasing vascular pressure and accelerating vascular aging, which can then easily cause cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and strokes. It may also allow kidney function damage, which in turn can further aggravate hypertension, creating a vicious cycle.

2, more prone to fractures

Excessive sodium intake can inhibit bone cell differentiation and normal function, making it easy for bone density and bone strength to decline, which in turn increases the risk of fractures.

3. Increased risk of gastritis

Excessive salt intake can cause adverse stimulation of the gastric mucosa, which can easily lead to cell detachment from the gastric wall, increasing the risk of gastritis, which can also evolve into gastric cancer with constant stimulation.

4, affects cognition

A long-term high-salt diet increases oxidative stress in hippocampal tissue and inflammatory responses in the gut, which can easily lead to memory impairment, cognitive impairment in the brain, and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

So, it is important to control salt intake in daily life, not that you can't eat salt but in moderation. Our dietary guidelines recommend that adults should have a daily salt intake of less than 5g.

3. Peking University study: Switching to low-sodium salt could reduce 450,000 deaths per year

Researchers at Peking University conducted a large randomized controlled study to assess the impact of low-sodium salt instead of regular salt on cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality in China. The results found that if the Chinese population switched from regular salt to low-sodium salt, it might reduce cardiovascular deaths by 450,000 per year.

A similar study was previously done in Taiwan, China, and found that the use of low sodium salt reduced cardiovascular deaths.

But although low sodium salt is great at reducing the risk of cardiovascular death, it is not suitable for everyone, and these 3 types of people should be careful:

Fourth, to protect cardiovascular, 3 kinds of food should also be eaten less

According to statistics, about 1/7 of cardiovascular deaths in China can be attributed to high sodium intake, that is, too much salt, so it is necessary to reduce sodium intake. For cardiovascular health, it is recommended to replace regular table salt with low sodium salt, and also to eat less of the following 3 cardiovascular damaging foods.

1. Eat less high-salt foods

High-salt foods include, in addition to salt, the salted fish, bacon, bacon, sauerkraut, etc. that we eat every day. These types of foods are high in salt, and excessive intake can upset the body's water-sodium balance, inducing water-sodium retention and increased blood volume, allowing peripheral vascular resistance to rise, which can easily cause blood pressure to rise and induce hypertension.

2. Eat less free sugar

Free sugar, also known as added sugar, such as white sugar, brown sugar, rock sugar, and syrup, all fall into this category. Excessive intake of these sugars can easily cause a rise in blood sugar, and high blood sugar can damage vascular endothelial cells and function, which can easily cause hypertension and hyperglycemia over time.

3. Eat less high-fat food

High-fat food intake in large quantities can raise the levels of fat and triglycerides in the blood, which is extremely detrimental to blood pressure control and can further aggravate the condition.

Salt is a necessity of life, but not the more you eat, the better, there is a limit, otherwise it can pose a great risk to your health. It is recommended to keep your daily salt intake at 5g.