Eating too much salt is one of the most common and overlooked threats to heart health.
New research from France and the United Kingdom now shows that even modest reductions in sodium levels in everyday foods could prevent large numbers of heart attacks, strokes, and early deaths, all without asking people to change what they eat.
These findings come from two major studies published in the journal Hypertension and highlight how powerful food policy can be when it quietly improves the food supply.
Sodium, which is found in salt, plays a role in fluid balance in the body, but too much of it raises blood pressure. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and even dementia.
Because many people consume most of their salt from packaged foods, bread, and takeaway meals rather than from a salt shaker, public health experts have increasingly focused on changing how foods are made rather than relying on individual willpower.
In France, researchers examined what would happen if salt levels were reduced in one of the country’s most commonly eaten foods: bread.
Traditional French bread, especially baguettes, is eaten daily by much of the population and has historically been a major source of salt. For years, bread alone has accounted for about a quarter of the recommended daily salt intake in France.
France set a national goal in 2019 to reduce salt intake by 30 percent. This led to a voluntary agreement in 2022 between the government and bread producers to gradually lower salt levels in bread by 2025.
By 2023, most bread already met these new standards. Researchers used national dietary and health data to model what would happen if these targets were fully met and bread consumption stayed the same.
They found that daily salt intake would fall by about 0.35 grams per person. While this may sound small, the effects across the population were meaningful. The model estimated that more than 1,000 deaths could be prevented each year.
Hospitalizations for heart disease and both major types of stroke would also decline. Men were expected to see slightly larger benefits overall, while women between the ages of 55 and 64 would experience the greatest reduction in risk.
Importantly, this change happened without people noticing. Bread still tasted like bread, and eating habits did not need to change. This shows that reformulating staple foods with slightly less salt can quietly improve health on a large scale.
A separate study in the United Kingdom looked at a broader range of foods. Researchers examined what would happen if sodium reduction targets set for 2024 were fully met across packaged foods and takeaway meals. These targets covered dozens of food categories, including bread, cheese, meats, snacks, burgers, pizzas, and ready-made meals.
Using national survey data, the researchers estimated that average daily salt intake would drop from about 6.1 grams to 4.9 grams per person. This represents a reduction of around 17.5 percent. Men were projected to see slightly larger decreases because they tend to consume more salt overall.
This reduction was expected to slightly lower blood pressure across the population. While the change for any one person would be small, the long-term effects were substantial. Over a 20-year period, the model estimated that more than 100,000 cases of ischemic heart disease and about 25,000 strokes could be prevented.
Over people’s lifetimes, these changes were projected to add hundreds of thousands of healthy life years and save the National Health Service about £1 billion in health care costs.
The strength of these studies lies in their focus on population-wide change. Instead of asking individuals to read labels, cook differently, or resist cravings, they show that healthier defaults can deliver benefits automatically.
Small improvements in blood pressure at the individual level become large public health gains when applied across millions of people.
At the same time, these studies rely on mathematical models rather than direct observation. This means the results depend on assumptions about how salt intake affects blood pressure and how blood pressure affects disease risk.
Real-world outcomes may vary depending on changes in eating patterns, food industry compliance, and future trends in health behavior. Self-reported diet data can also underestimate true salt intake, especially from restaurant foods.
Despite these limitations, the findings are consistent with decades of evidence showing that reducing sodium lowers blood pressure and reduces cardiovascular risk. The studies strongly support stronger collaboration between governments, food manufacturers, and public health agencies.
They also suggest that enforcing sodium targets, rather than relying on voluntary action alone, could unlock even greater benefits.
Overall, these studies show that small, nearly invisible changes in how food is prepared can save lives, reduce health care costs, and improve quality of life. Lowering salt in common foods is not a dramatic intervention, but its impact can be profound.
By reshaping the food environment, countries can protect heart health without placing the burden on individuals, offering a powerful and practical path to long-term disease prevention.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about breakfast for better blood pressure management, and the gut feeling that lowers blood pressure.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how the dash diet helps lower blood pressure, and how to eat your way to healthy blood pressure.
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