A recent medical study reveals the dangers of adding salt to food

A recent medical study published in the European Heart Journal, conducted on about 500,000 people, found that the frequent addition of salt to food increases the risk of early death, regardless of the causes of death.

These results are limited to the frequent addition of salt to meals, and not during the cooking process, according to the researchers.

"Higher frequency of adding salt to foods is associated with a higher risk of premature death, all-cause, and lower life expectancy," the researchers said in the results published on Sunday.

A total of 501,379 people participated in the study, starting in 2005 and 2006, and were followed for an average of nine years.

Participants were asked via a questionnaire whether and how often they added salt to their foods.

The researchers found that compared to those who never or rarely used salt, those who always added salt to their meals had a 28 percent increased risk of premature death.

At the age of fifty, it was found that always adding salt to food reduces the lifespan of men by more than two years, and a year and a half for women.

"We found graduated relationships between higher frequency of adding salt to foods and higher concentrations of sodium for 24 hours. During a median of 9.0 years of follow-up, 18,474 premature deaths were documented," the researchers said.

Professor Lu Chi, of the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans, who led the study, said that even a small reduction in sodium, by adding little or no salt to the food at the table, is likely to lead to benefits. Great health."

Professor Annika Rosengren, from the University of Gothenburg, who was not involved in the research, told the Guardian: "What the collective evidence on salt suggests is that healthy people who consume normal levels of regular salt do not need to worry so much about their salt intake."

For this group, she said, balancing salt intake with a diet rich in fruits and vegetables should be a priority.

And advised those at risk of heart disease to reduce salt consumption.

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