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Beware, high salt intake can damage your kidneys

Beware, high salt intake can damage your kidneys

Written by Agencies |Published : November 17, 2014 3:17 PM IST

New York, Nov 17: While those having a kidney problem are advised to reduce their intake of salt, studies presented at ASN (American Society of Nephrology) Kidney Week Nov 11-16, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reveal that high intake of salt may increase the risk of kidney problems in healthy individuals.

A study involving 544,635 participants, revealed that people who have an average of 4.7 gm salt in a day have greater risk of resorting to dialysis. The study, however, did not see any benefit for people with low sodium intake (average 2g a day). 'Our findings extend the known benefits of healthy eating and show that the consumption of a healthy diet may protect from future major renal events,' said Andrew Smyth from the National University of Ireland, Galway. 'As dietary modification is a low-cost, simple intervention, it offers the potential to significantly reduce the burden from chronic kidney disease, while also protecting from cardiovascular disease,' Smyth added. These findings were confirmed by a separate study that found that reducing salt intake reduces albuminuria, or excess protein in the urine, which is a hallmark of kidney dysfunction. (Read: High salt intake in smokers linked to rheumatoid arthritis)

Another study, study led by Meg Jardine from The George Institute for International Health, in Australia and her colleagues, involved 120 rural villages in China, who were a part of 8-month sodium reduction programme. It revealed that those who underwent sodium reduction had a 33 percent decreased likelihood of having albuminuria compared with individuals in the control villages. (Read: How to reduce salt intake and control your BP)

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Source: IANS

Photo source: Getty images


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