Dietary Sodium and Cardiovascular Disease

Although an essential nutrient, higher sodium intake is associated with increasing blood pressure (BP), forming the basis for current population-wide sodium restriction guidelines. While short-term clinical trials have achieved low intake (<2.0 g/day), this has not been reproduced in long-term trials (>6 months). Guidelines assume that low sodium intake will reduce BP and reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared to moderate intake. However, current observational evidence suggests a J-shaped association …