A research study being conducted by the Friedman School of Nutrition and Science and Policy at Tufts University in Medford, MA has found that the excessive consumption of dietary sodium increases high blood pressure, which is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart disease. Although, according to lead researcher, Dr. Dariush Mozaffariah, "The effects of excess sodium intake on cardiovascular diseases globally by age, sex, and nation had not been well established."
Sodium occurs naturally in most of the food that is being consumed by the public, there are also higher amounts of this element that is added onto processed food including meats and bread. By analyzing data from over 200 surveys regarding sodium intake, the researchers try to map out the effects of excess dietary sodium and how it influences cardiovascular health worldwide. They also gathered nutrition data to see the trends of sodium intake by age, sex, and country.
The results of the study revealed that the average intake of sodium was 3.95 g per day, which is almost double the daily requirement sent by the World Health Organization. They deducted that the excessive consumption of sodium can be related to the more than 1.65 million cardiovascular related deaths worldwide. This is roughly equivalent to 1 in 10 people who die from cardiovascular disease each year, with 4 out of 5 of these deaths occurring in middle to low income countries.
In the United States, the average daily intake of sodium was at 3.6 g, which is about 80% over the WHO recommended daily amount, and is certainly higher than the 2.3 g per day requirement set by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This, researchers say, accounts for the almost 58,000 cases of cardiovascular deaths in the country each year.
Prof. John Powles of the Department Of Public Health And Primary Care at the University of Cambridge said that, "These new findings confirm the need for strong policies to reduce the dietary sodium in the United States and across the world."