Regular addition of salt to food may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, researchers say.

Data Shows Higher Risk for Salt Consumers

Data from more than 400,000 adults in the UK shows that those who consume the most salt have a 39% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who never or rarely consume the ingredient.

First Study to Reveal Connection

The scientists said their findings, published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, were the first to show this connection.

Salt Reduction’s Impact on Diabetes Prevention

Lead author of the study, Professor Lu Qi from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in the US, explained: “We already know that limiting salt can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure, but this study shows that eliminating salt for the first time from the table may help prevent type 2 diabetes.”

NHS Salt Consumption Recommendations

The National Health Service (NHS) recommends that adults eat no more than 6g (about a teaspoon) of salt per day.

Study Methodology

The researchers looked at data on 402,982 adults aged 37 to 73 from the UK Biobank, an online database of the health and lifestyle of half a million Britons.

Questionnaires were used to assess how often they added salt to food, but did not take into account the salt used in cooking.

Professor Qi said the team was instead focusing on testing “a new behavioral indicator of long-term salt intake”.

The researchers took into account factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, physical characteristics including height, weight and hip circumference, smoking and alcohol consumption, level of physical activity, income and education.

Long-Term Impact

Over a follow-up period of approximately 12 years, more than 13,000 people developed type 2 diabetes.

The researchers found that those who reported adding salt to their food “sometimes,” “usually,” or “always” were 13%, 20%, and 39% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, respectively, compared with those who “never I didn’t add salt to my food” or added salt “rarely”.

Possible Mechanisms

The team said more research was needed to understand why eating a lot of salt was associated with an increased risk of diabetes, but Professor Chee said adding salt to food could encourage people to eat more salt, increasing the risk of diseases such as obesity and inflammation.

He added: “As we showed in the paper, the higher risk of type 2 diabetes is partly due to increased body fat associated with added salt to food. Previous studies have also shown that salt intake is associated with abnormal blood pressure and inflammation, and this may also contribute to increasing the risk of developing diabetes.

Alternatives to Salt

Therefore, researchers advise adding various herbs and spices to improve the taste of food, instead of adding more salt.

Source

Source: Independent