Research
Hormonal
Very low sodium intake (<3g/day) can increase cardiovascular risk by activating the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and sympathetic nervous system, leading to insulin resistance and increased mortality.
Avoid extremely low sodium diets. While reducing excess salt is good, going to the other extreme can trigger stress hormones and increase heart risk. A moderate intake is best for most people.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
Sodium restriction results in increased atherosclerosis [21]. In humans, the relationship between salt restriction and increased renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system activation has been described [22,23], as well as the relationship with increased sympathetic activity [24] and insulin resistance [25–27].
Why this rating
Based on observational studies and meta-analyses showing a J-shaped curve; causality is harder to establish than for high intake.
Source
Sodium Intake and Hypertension
Andrea Grillo et al. · Nutrients · 2019
DOI 10.3390/nu11091970
narrative_reviewCited 688×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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