Doctor explains why a low-salt diet may not be healthy for everyone
New Delhi: A healthy person should not consume a low-salt diet as it may adversely raise health issues like diabetes, and cholesterol and even increase the risk of death, according to a top neurologist.
Taking to X, Dr. Sudhir Kumar from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, in a post on X, said: “There is a common belief that salt is unhealthy”.
He added that many doctors “recommend limiting salt intake in the diet in order to reduce the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends less than 2000 mg/day of sodium (equivalent to less than 5 g/day salt (just under a teaspoon) for adults.
Healthy people on a salt-restricted diet may be at risk of “increased risk of insulin resistance, which in turn, increases the risk of diabetes mellitus,” said Kumar.
“Salt restriction is also associated with raised total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol levels,” he said.
The expert stressed that sodium is necessary for proper functioning of the brain, nerves, and muscles. People with low sodium intake can have “weakness, fatigue, dizziness, coma, seizure and even death in severe cases”.
At the same time, consuming an excess salt diet may spike blood pressure levels in a subset of people with hypertension, referred to as salt-sensitive hypertension.
“About 50 per cent of hypertensives are salt sensitive, and should restrict their sodium intake to 2300 mg/day (5.8 grams of salt per day),” the neurologist said.
Further, about 25 per cent of the general population is also salt-sensitive and could benefit from salt restriction.
“Salt-sensitivity is more common among women, elderly, obese, and those with chronic kidney disease, and a high salt diet can increase the risk of hypertension in them,” Kumar said.
He suggested that healthy people with normal kidneys consume a normal salt diet, while those on a salt-restricted diet should watch for signs and symptoms of hyponatremia (low sodium).