Cutting salt by 3 grams a day could save lives

Consuming just half a teaspoon less salt each day may save as many as 92,000 U.S. deaths and as much as $24 billion in medical costs a year, a study found.

A 3-gram daily salt reduction per person would lower annual cases of heart disease and stroke by about one-third, according to an analysis published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The authors used a computer-simulation model to estimate that the change in consumption would save $10 billion to $24 billion in annual health care costs from drugs and other treatments for high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Reducing salt intake would improve health as much as quitting smoking, losing weight and taking medications for lowering cholesterol, the researchers found. Salt reduction lowers blood pressure, so a cutback of just 1 gram per day would have substantial benefits in about one third of adults with high blood pressure, the study said.

Half a teaspoon of salt equals about 1,200 milligrams of sodium, or 3 grams of salt, according to the American Heart Association's Web site. The heart association also announced it was lowering its recommended amount of daily sodium intake to less than 1,500 milligrams from 2,300 milligrams. Sodium is found in a number of products besides table salt. Those include monosodium glutamate and baking soda.

The study was done by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, at Stanford University and at Columbia University using a computer model of coronary heart disease in U.S. residents age 35 and older.

New York City health officials are pushing for a reduction in the amount of salt in packaged and restaurant foods by 25 percent over the next five years.