Salt

Studies in people

• Open question

  Blood pressure²

  Eating less salt lowers blood pressure, though not everyone reacts to changes in salt the same way.

• Open question

  Blood pressure and taste³

  Scientists do not yet know whether eating salt as a baby changes blood pressure or food tastes later in life.

• Concern

  Heart and blood vessel risk⁴

  In people, salt sensitivity changes blood chemicals that may stiffen arteries and raise heart risk.

• Open question

  Water balance in the body⁵

  In people, long-term high salt intake did not make them drink more, but made their bodies hold onto water.

• Concern

  Blood pressure response⁶

  Some people's blood pressure rises and falls with how much salt they eat, but there is no simple test to tell who.

• Concern

  Blood pressure and stomach cancer⁷

  Salt may raise blood pressure and has been linked to stomach cancer, but scientists still debate how much it matters.

• Concern

  Blood pressure after salty food⁸

  In people, salt in soup raised blood pressure, but drinking water alongside salt stopped that rise.

• Concern

  Hydration in young adults⁹

  Young adults who ate more salt drank more but were less well hydrated than those who ate less salt.

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  Kidney repair¹⁶

  In animal studies, a low-salt diet made salt-sensing kidney cells turn on repair and regrowth.

Study type not stated

• Concern

  Blood pressure and kidneys¹²

  Salt can raise blood pressure in some people, and the kidneys play a big part in this.

• Concern

  Blood pressure and heart health¹³

  Eating too much salt raises blood pressure, and much of it hides in processed foods rather than the shaker.

• Concern

  Kidney stone risk¹⁴

  Eating too much salt is linked to a higher risk of kidney stones forming again.

How it’s made and used

• Aging and dietary habits¹⁰

  In Japanese adults, salt intake went up as people got older over ten years.

• Who knows about sodium¹¹

  In a survey of 11,618 Italians, women knew more about salt than men, and adolescents knew and did least.

• Saltiness and texture in food¹⁵

  Adding psyllium husk powder to low-salt surimi helped it taste saltier and hold together better.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.