HOW MUCH SALT IS TOO MUCH? NOT ENOUGH?

Experts have long blamed excessive salt in the American diet for rising rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, and kidney disorders. But too little salt can be a bad thing, too, says a new Institute of Medicine report. “Lowering sodium intake too much may actually increase a person’s risk of some health problems,” study author Brian Strom tells CBSNews.com.  (click below to read more)

Americans consume an average of 3,400 milligrams of salt per day, most of it in processed foods. The American Heart Association recommends 1,500 milligrams or less, but the new report found that reducing sodium intake below 2,300 milligrams a day may backfire. In one recent study of patients hospitalized for congestive heart failure, those who consumed 1,800 milligrams of sodium daily were twice as likely to die during the study period as patients who took in 2,700. Another study found that the risk of heart attack and stroke among people with high blood pressure was higher if they ingested less than 3,000 milligrams of salt per day. Low sodium levels seem to increase insulin resistance and stress the heart in other ways. “Until now it was all about blood pressure,” says Albert Einstein College of Medicine researcher Michael H. Alderman. “Now they say it is more complicated.”