Dietary Sodium Restriction: Take It with a Grain of Salt Article

Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2013.05.020 PMID: 24054177 Web of Science: 000326050300023
International Collaboration

Cited authors

  • DiNicolantonio, James J.; Niazi, Asfandyar K.; Sadaf, Rizwana; Keefe, James H. O'; Lucan, Sean C.; Lavie, Carl J.

Abstract

  • The American Heart Association recently strongly recommended a dietary sodium intake of < 1500 mg/d for all Americans to achieve "Ideal Cardiovascular Health" by 2020. However, low sodium diets have not been shown to reduce cardiovascular events in normotensive individuals or in individuals with pre-hypertension or hypertension. Moreover, there is evidence that a low sodium diet may lead to a worse cardiovascular prognosis in patients with cardiometabolic risk and established cardiovascular disease. Low sodium diets may adversely affect insulin resistance, serum lipids, and neurohormonal pathways, leading to increases in the incidence of new cardiometabolic disease, the severity of existing cardiometabolic disease, and greater cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Although a high sodium intake also may be deleterious, there is good reason to believe that sodium intake is regulated within such a tight physiologic range that there is little risk to leaving sodium intake to inherent biology as opposed to likely futile attempts at conscious control. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Publication date

  • 2013

Published in

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0002-9343

Start page

  • 951

End page

  • 955

Volume

  • 126

Issue

  • 11