Madam, - Maurice Neligan expresses scepticism that salt intake plays a critical role in blood pressure regulation ( HEALTHplus, September 23rd). The record must be set straight as this matter is a serious one.
High blood pressure is a major cause of illness and death from cardiovascular disease in Ireland and worldwide. There is a substantial body of research evidence from diverse sources to support the hypothesis that high dietary salt intake is an important factor in the rise in blood pressure with age and the development of hypertension in industrial countries. This literature was summarised by Prof Ivan Perry for the Food Safety Authority of Ireland in its 2005 document Salt and Health: Review of the scientific evidence and recommendations for public policy in Ireland.
Since 2005 further work has been published, the most significant being two studies by researchers in Harvard showing that a reduced salt diet over one and two decades is associated with a reduction in the effects of high blood pressure - coronary heart disease and stroke.
So the evidence is robust and the message must not be lost. Salt is needed in very small amounts for bodily function. Irish people eat two to three times more salt than the body needs and the excess is not good for us. Only 20 per cent of salt intake is within our personal control (added in cooking or at table) and we have little choice over 80 per cent of the salt we consume.
The main mechanisms for removing salt from the diet are "upstream" measures such as reducing levels of salt in bread, processed foods and cured meats, as advocated by the FSAI review. - Yours, etc,
Dr SIOBHAN JENNINGS,
Faculty of Public Health Medicine,
Royal College of Physicians of Ireland,
South Frederick Street,
Dublin 2.