People who eat the least salt may be hurting their hearts, according to a study causing controversy because some of its findings clash with public-health efforts to lower sodium consumption.

The results published yesterday in theNew England Journal of Medicineshowed the expected link between heart complications and high levels of sodium, which is known to boost blood pressureand cardiovascular risks. Those at the lowest end, as measured by the amount of sodium in their urine, were also at greater risk — a 27 percent increased chance of heart attack, stroke and death from cardiovascular causes, the study found.

“There is a sweet spot for what the optimum sodium intake is,” said Salim Yusuf, senior author of the paper and director of the Population Health Research Institute in Ontario. “The message is very simple: Moderation in salt intake. Avoid high and low levels.”

The researchers found a healthy range for sodium intake and concluded as many as 75 percent of Americans are in the zone. The issue is that national recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association are in the lower area where cardiovascular risks may increase, Yusuf said in a telephone interview.

“Going down to those levels may be harmful,” he said.

The experts agreed that too much sodium is dangerous and it comes mainly from packaged foods and restaurant meals. Only a small proportion stems from salt added to a homemade meal or shaken on food at the kitchen table. It’s important for consumers to read food labels to get a good sense of how much salt they consume each day.

New Guidelines

The findings bolster a May report from the Institute of Medicine that found U.S. dietary recommendations to reduce sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams a day for some people aren’t fully supported by scientific evidence. The guideline writers should take the new evidence, that a range of 3,000 mg to 6,000 mg a day is linked to lower risk, into account, Yusuf said.

That’s not likely to occur. Elliott Antman, president of the American Heart Association and associate dean for clinical translational research at Harvard Medical School, said flaws with how the study was conducted cast doubt on its findings. AHA is reinforcing its efforts to cut salt consumption, he said.

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Source: Boomberg