Salt intake, blood pressure and heart disease risk in people
What it found
Cutting back on salt lowers blood pressure in people, especially those who already have high readings.
Most countries eat about 9 to 12 g of salt a day, well above the WHO limit of less than 5 g.
What they found
Studies in people
Blood pressure effects
Several combined analyses of trials show that eating less salt lowers blood pressure. The drop is larger in people with high blood pressure but also happens in those with normal readings.
Who is salt sensitive
Not everyone reacts to salt changes the same way. About 50 to 60 percent of people with high blood pressure are salt sensitive. Older age, being black, having metabolic syndrome or carrying extra weight all raise this sensitivity.
Disease links
Eating too much salt is tied to a higher chance of high blood pressure, stroke, heart problems and kidney disease. A preference for salty food may also be linked to stomach cancer and possibly weight gain.
Potassium helps lower pressure
Eating more potassium through fruits and vegetables can bring down blood pressure, particularly in people whose readings are already high.
Other findings
Current salt intake
People in most countries currently eat about 9 to 12 g of salt each day. This is much higher than the WHO recommendation of less than 5 g per day.
Measuring salt intake
Checking sodium in a full day of urine is the best way to measure salt intake. Single urine samples work as a simpler option. Food labels and databases often lack exact salt details.
What the authors conclude
- They advise cutting daily salt to no more than 5 g, or under 1.5 g of sodium for black people, older adults and those with certain health conditions.
- They recommend following the DASH eating plan, keeping body weight in a normal range, getting about 4.7 g of potassium a day and exercising regularly.
- They call for more research into how the body stores and handles sodium to strengthen the case for lowering salt.
How it was done
High salt eating is linked to raised blood pressure, which increases the chance of stroke, heart problems and kidney disease. Scientists also wanted to look at whether salty food might be tied to stomach cancer or weight gain.
The authors gathered findings from multiple studies and meta-analyses looking at how salt affects blood pressure and disease risk in people. They also looked at how salt intake is measured and what strategies help people eat less of it.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This work combines many different studies rather than running one controlled trial.
- It can show patterns between salt and disease but cannot prove that salt alone causes every outcome mentioned.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- University of Vienna, Austria; Medical University of Vienna, Austria
The paper
- Title
- Impact of Salt Intake on the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Hypertension
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Rust P, Ekmekcioglu C (2017). Impact of Salt Intake on the Pathogenesis and Treatment of Hypertension. Advances in experimental medicine and biology. doi:10.1007/5584_2016_147PubMed 27757935DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error