Lots of salt, less likely to die of heart disease - what do you think?

[Storm Bride]

Came across this one this morning. What do you all think?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/03/us-eating-less-salt-doesnt-cut-heart-ris-idUSTRE7427AG20110503

I've been doubtful about this one for a long, long time, for a lot of reasons. I suspect salt is a problem for people who have issues with water retention, and I suspect it's not a problem at all for people (like me) who don't.

[Sol_y_Paz]

I do not agree and think excessive salt is not a smart dietary decision for the general population.  The amount of salt found in canned and packaged food is really quite high when compared to salt in homemade products.  I think salt consumption is excessive in our country due to availability and the fact it is found in easy and junky foods that a large percentage of people now eat frequently.  Perhaps it is the relationship between salt and bad foods and then in return bad health in the US that plays a role.  

Edited by Sol_y_Paz - 5/5/11 at 9:39pm

[neptunemama]

I've thought this for a long time, and did research on it myself, and couldn't find any study that showed that a high salt diet causes high BP or heart disease.  If you have either already then yes, it can worsen those, but salt in and of itself is not the cause.  

[Magelet]

I honestly haven't done any research on it at all, however I eat a very high salt diet now. (no processed foods, just adding a lot of salt to the pot and at the table) This is because I've had low blood pressure all my life, (as have my mother and sister), to the point that as a child and teen, I thought that blacking out (losing vision for 15 seconds or so, becoming dizzy, feeling faint, but not quite losing conciousness) when I stood up was normal. (BTW, we ate very low salt at my house growing up). When I keep properly hydrated, and eat a lot of salt, I don't have any problems with this, but when I eat less salt (even if I'm fully hydrated), I do black out when I stand up. So I salt to taste. I think that for most people, salting homemade food to taste is not at all dangerous, (though for people who already have high blood pressure and heart disease it might be) the danger only lies in excessively salted processed foods (which might not taste salty.)