Research

Hormonal

Population-level reduction in salt intake (from ~9.5 g/day to ~8.1 g/day) over 8 years in England led to a significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which contributed to a substantial reduction in stroke and ischaemic heart disease mortality.

To lower blood pressure and reduce heart disease risk, aim to reduce daily salt intake to below 6 grams. Focus on cutting back on processed foods, which account for most salt intake, rather than just avoiding adding salt at the table. This change, combined with other healthy lifestyle factors, can significantly improve cardiovascular health.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
The reduction in salt intake is likely to be an important contributor to the falls in BP from 2003 to 2011 in England. As a result, it would have contributed substantially to the decreases in stroke and IHD mortality.
Feng J. He et al. · BMJ Open · 2014

Why this rating

Ecological study design with potential confounding factors, though adjusted for many variables.

Source

Salt reduction in England from 2003 to 2011: its relationship to blood pressure, stroke and ischaemic heart disease mortality

Feng J. He et al. · BMJ Open · 2014

DOI 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-004549

cohort · n=31672Cited 440×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →