In recent years, researchers have been looking closely at how our diet affects our health. One interesting discovery they made is about salt – something most of us use every day.
A study done by Rui Tang, M.P.H., and colleagues from Tulane University in New Orleans, and published in JAMA Network Open, revealed a connection between how much salt people add to their food and the risk of developing a kidney problem called chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Chronic kidney disease is a condition where the kidneys slowly stop working over time.
It’s a serious issue because kidneys are crucial for filtering waste from our blood and keeping our body’s fluid and mineral balance. When they don’t work well, harmful wastes build up in the body.
The study focused on adults aged 37 to 73 years from the U.K. who were part of a large research project called the U.K. Biobank.
These adults didn’t have CKD when the study started. The researchers followed these people for about 12 years, keeping an eye on their kidney health.
Out of the 465,288 people in the study, 22,031 developed CKD. The researchers noticed something important: the more often people said they added salt to their food, the more likely they were to develop CKD.
They compared people who rarely or never added extra salt to their food with those who sometimes, usually, or always did.
The ones who added salt more frequently had a higher risk of kidney disease. The risk increased progressively from those who sometimes added salt to those who always did.
But there’s more to the story. The risk linked to adding salt wasn’t the same for everyone. It changed depending on a few factors like the person’s kidney function at the start (measured by something called eGFR), their body weight (measured by body mass index or BMI), and how much they exercised.
People with better kidney function, lower body weight, and less physical activity showed a stronger link between added salt and CKD risk.
This study is important because it tells us something about how a small habit, like adding salt to our food, can have a big impact on our health over time. It also suggests that cutting down on added salt could be a good way to help prevent kidney disease.
Kidney disease is a growing problem worldwide. It’s often called a “silent disease” because many people don’t realize they have it until it’s quite advanced. This is why finding ways to prevent it, like watching our salt intake, is so important.
In conclusion, this study highlights a simple yet significant lifestyle change that could benefit our kidneys.
Reducing the amount of salt we add to our food might be an easy and effective way to lower our risk of developing chronic kidney disease, especially for those who are more vulnerable. It’s a reminder of how small choices in our diet can have a big impact on our overall health.
If you care about kidney health, please read studies about drug that prevents kidney failure in diabetes, and drinking coffee could help reduce risk of kidney injury.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about the best time to take vitamins to prevent heart disease, and calcium supplements could harm your heart health.
The research findings can be found in JAMA Network Open.
Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
