appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Agence France-Presse

Salt consumption exceeds national and World Health Organisation guidelines in most countries, but only the highest-sodium diets, such as in China, are linked to clear health risks, researchers said on Friday.
Only individuals with a daily salt intake of at least 12.5 grams – about two-and-a-half teaspoons – were associated with increased blood pressure and a greater risk of stroke, they reported in The Lancet, a medical journal.
The WHO recommends capping salt consumption at 5 grams per day, but this target is not known to have been achieved at a national level anywhere in the world, the survey of more than 90,000 people spread across 300 distinct communities in 18 countries found.
Stem-cell therapy: three ways it is relieving human conditions, and the promise of more treatments to save and prolong lives
“We should be far more concerned about targeting communities and countries with high average sodium intake – above 5 grams (equivalent to 12.5 grams of salt), such as China – and bringing them down to the moderate range” of 7.5 to 12.5 grams of salt, said lead author Andre Mente, a professor in the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University in Canada.
One gram of sodium equals 2.5 grams of salt.

Four-fifths of the groups examined in China had average daily salt intake of 12.5 grams, whereas in other countries 84 per cent ingested between 7.5 and 12.5 grams.
“Our study adds to growing evidence that, at moderate intake, sodium may have a beneficial role in cardiovascular heath, but a potentially more harmful role when intake is very high or very low,” he said in a statement.
The human body needs essential nutrients such as sodium and many vitamins, but the ideal amount remains subject to debate.
Life-threatening parasite found in Chinese patients who ate raw centipedes
The study, which stopped short of calling for WHO recommendations to be relaxed, examined urine and blood samples, along with health records, for 95,767 women and men monitored over an eight-year period.
Nearly 3,700 of the participants died during that time and 3,543 had “major cardiovascular events”.
Experts not involved in the study were sharply critical of its methodology, and said its findings should be taken with more than a few grains of salt.
The technique for collecting urine samples in notoriously unreliable, they noted. And the fact that it was an observational study – as opposed to clinical trials – means that no firm conclusions can be drawn as to cause-and-effect.
Why the microbes in your poo could one day help people to lose weight
Most controversial was the suggestion that low sodium intake may, in fact, provoke heart disease.
“There are no known mechanisms that could explain this observation,” commented Tom Sanders, professor emeritus of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London.
“Sodium is an essential nutrient but the requirement is very low at about 0.5 grams (1.25 grams of salt) per day.”
Ageing populations, he added, should still be advised to restrict the addition of salt to food.


Chinese man, 32, suffers stomach pain, discovers thermometer swallowed as child still inside him

Asia’s flood of cheap Ozempic generics opens gates to weight-loss abuse

Global drug makers face pricing pressure as China targets affordable healthcare

Doctors warn of spinal cord damage as ‘neck-hanging exercise’ trends among China youth

Health in China

Drive to curb salt intake should focus on China, researchers say

Four-fifths of the groups examined in China had an average daily salt intake of 12.5 grams, whereas in other countries 84 per cent ingested between 7.5 and 12.5 grams. Photo: AP

Processed salt is seen on a pot at Yim Tin Tsai Village, Sai Kung. 27JUL18 SCMP / Sam Tsang

Drive to curb salt intake should focus on China, researchers say

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}WHO recommends capping salt consumption at 5 grams per day

WHO recommends capping salt consumption at 5 grams per day