Reducing salt intake could lower stroke risks

New research from Warwick Medical School has revealed that lowering dietary salt intake has the potential to reduce the risk of strokes and heart disease.

The study, revealed in the British Medical Journal, shows that a 3g reduction of salt intake in the UK would prevent up to 8,000 stroke deaths and 12,000 coronary heart disease deaths per year in the country.

Professor Francesco Capuccio, the lead researcher on the study, also noted that a similar reduction in the diets of US residents would result in up to 120,000 fewer coronary heart disease cases and up to 66,000 fewer strokes.

The World Health Organization has set a global goal to reduce dietary salt intake to less than 5g per person by 2025, yet salt intake in many countries around the world is currently much higher than this.

Professor Cappuccio said: "The huge responsibility of food manufacturers in contributing to the epidemic of cardiovascular disease must be acknowledged."

A recent report in the Neurology Journal found that over-65s who use a lot of olive oil in cooking have a lower stroke risk than those who abstained.