High-Salt Diet Doubles Heart Disease Risk in Diabetes Patients: Study

People suffering from diabetes should watch their level of salt consumption as well. A new study states that foods with high salt content can double heart disease risk in diabetics.

The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Niigata Prefecture in Japan. High levels of sodium in diet can lead to several health complications. A good way to cut sodium in diet is to reduce junk food consumption. Smoked bacon, fries, hot dogs and chicken strips are known to contain "hidden" high salt levels.

For the study, researchers used data from Japan Diabetes Complications Study. Participants, diagnosed with diabetes, were aged between 40 and 70 years. About 1,588 took part in a survey about their diets and sodium intake. The research team then assessed cardiovascular health of the participants by looking at data on heart problems reported by the patients over a course of eight years.

Researchers then divided the participants based on sodium intake. The team found that people who ate around 5.9 grams of sodium everyday had two times higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease than those who consumed 2.8 grams of sodium daily..

"The study's findings provide clear scientific evidence supporting low-sodium diets to reduce the rate of heart disease among people with diabetes," said Chika Horikawa, from the University of Niigata Prefecture in Niigata. "Although many guidelines recommend people with diabetes reduce their salt intake to lower the risk of complications, this study is among the first large longitudinal studies to demonstrate the benefits of a low-sodium diet in this population."  

Also, the effect of high-sodium diet was higher heart disease risk in people with poor blood sugar control.

"To reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, it is important for people who have Type 2 diabetes to improve their blood sugar control as well as watch their diet," Horikawa, first author of the study, said in a news release. "Our findings demonstrate that restricting salt in the diet could help prevent dangerous complications from diabetes."

The study is published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

According to the Centers for Disease and Prevention, healthy people below the age of 50 years must eat no more than 2300mg of sodium per day.