How risky is it to eat lots of salt? A new study suggests that people with type 2 diabetes double their chance of cardiovascular disease if they consume high-salt diets. Because heart disease and strokes are major killers for people with diabetes, this association is particularly troubling.
The research was a national cohort study conducted in Japan. More than 1,500 diabetics between ages 40 and 70 answered detailed questionnaires about their diets. They were then followed up for about 8 years.
People who ate the most sodium, nearly 6 grams per day, were twice as likely to be diagnosed with cardiovascular complications than those who ate the least, just under 3 grams per day. People with poorly controlled blood sugar were especially susceptible to this adverse effects.
[Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, online July 22, 2014]
The People’s Pharmacy perspective acknowledges the “Goldilocks principle”: not too much, not too little, especially when it comes to sodium intake. This research suggests that people with type 2 diabetes, particularly if their blood sugar is not well controlled, are very susceptible to the cardiovascular damage that high salt consumption may cause.
