If you consume more salt, you will live longer
In a Nutshell
• Population studies show higher salt intake linked to lower all-cause mortality,
• Restricting salt may do far more harm than good
• An example of how conventional health advice may be wrong for many people
Yes, you read that right. That quote comes from one of my favourite scientists in the world of heart disease, Dr. Malcom Kendrick. I took it from an article he wrote recently entitled Disruptive science – part one. As the title suggests his article is about the practice of science that upends conventional thinking. He describes dramatically how disruptive science has declined thus:
“…the sobering fact there has been a collapse in disruptive science.”
However this isn’t a post about the sad state of modern research. It’s about an eye-opening example Kendrick uses to show how important information is not finding its way into the collective consciousness. The topic? Salt restriction. He writes:
“In this blog I want to look at one, specific area. The use of salt/sodium restriction to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of dying early? An idea that has been around since before the second world war.”
After eighty years of lectures, low-sodium labels, and public-health campaigns, Kendrick writes with his usual Scottish bluntness:
“…it should have become clear to anyone with a functioning brain that restricting salt intake could very well do far more harm than good.”
“The more salt you eat, the longer you live.”
Specifically, for everyone over 40, higher daily sodium intake was associated with lower all-cause mortality. In plain English - the people eating the most salt were the least likely to die.
From the Scottish Heart Health Study [2]:
“…greater sodium excretion, which is directly related to greater sodium intake, is protective.”
Interesting information on other dietary factors
From the Scottish study [2], the following risk factors were found to have no effect on the risk of death:
High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) – so-called “good’ cholesterol”
Triglycerides (now considered bad)
Total Cholesterol – essentially “bad cholesterol”
Body mass index (BMI)
Weight
Energy intake
Alcohol
Blood glucose
Personally, I won’t be crazily increasing any of those beyond my present situation, but I am reminded that a lot of what we’re told is “deadly”, for some of us may be noise, not signal.
Summary
The next time someone criticizes you for reaching for the salt shaker, you can now sprinkle generously, and reply: “Actually, I’m just trying to live longer.”
Your cheeky reply is supported by two of the biggest investigations in nutritional epidemiology. These aren’t cherry-picked rat studies or 12-week trials. They’re huge, long-term, gold-standard population cohorts.
References
1. Liu, D., Tian, Y., Wang, R. et al. Sodium, potassium intake, and all-cause mortality: confusion and new findings. BMC Public Health 24, 180 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17582-8
2. Tunstall-Pedoe H, Woodward M, Tavendale R, A'Brook R, McCluskey MK. Comparison of the prediction by 27 different factors of coronary heart disease and death in men and women of the Scottish Heart Health Study: cohort study. BMJ. 1997 Sep 20;315(7110):722-9. doi: 10.1136/bmj.315.7110.722. Erratum in: BMJ 1998 Jun 20;316(7148):1881. PMID: 9314758; PMCID: PMC2127508.