People with a high salt intake in their diet are more likely to also have high blood pressure and there is some evidence to show that high blood pressure sufferers can reduce their high blood pressure through cutting back their salt intake. This really just shows there is a relationship between the two, not that one causes the other. Yes, you are correct that people with high blood pressure and a sensitivity to salt are recommended to cut back their salt consumption much like heart attack sufferers are advised to cut back on bad fats. Here in New Zealand salt (and processed food in general) gets almost as much bad publicity as sugar does but each country has its own healthy eating guidelines. From what I read on this board (and others) the American health professionals are focused on fat, carbs, and obesity prevention. In our country of high meat consumption heart disease and diabetes are prevalent but fruit and vegetables are reasonably cheap and plentiful. Our healthy eating guidelines outline the dangers of processed foods in terms of the salt content and attempt to bring people back to healthier ways of preparing foods we have eaten for generations.
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