Experts condemn North American claim that reducing salt intake causes harm

The article explains how a concocted controversy, that benefits the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries, has been sustained for years by some scientists and editors of medical journals

The scientific journal, Current Nutrition Reports, has published an article in which experts condemn the flawed North American-based claim that reducing salt intake causes harm.

Twenty-five authors from 8 nations, of whom 14 are international cardiovascular experts, denounce the incorrect claim that helps the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries to preserve and to market unhealthy products. These experts call on stakeholders to act.

The incorrect claim that reducing salt intake causes harm was initiated years ago by research teams with members in the USA and Canada. They base the incorrect claim on fatally flawed methods. One of the research teams uses a one-time test of spot-urine, rather than repeated 24-hour urine collections, to arrive at the incorrect claim that reducing salt intake causes harm. Repeated 24-hour urine collection is well-recognized to be the gold standard to assess salt intake in clinical studies.

In their Current Nutrition Reports article, the international cardiovascular experts analyse the extensive evidence that supports the benefits of reducing salt consumption to prevent stroke, heart attack and heart and renal failure.