(November 26, 2009 - Insidermedicine)

The amount of salt in one's diet has a direct and substantial impact on the risk for stroke and cardiovascular disease, according to research published online ahead of print in the British Medical Journal.

Here are some tips to help you control the amount of salt in your diet:

•       Read food labels. Salt can lurk in unexpected places such as cereals, crackers, and canned or jarred foods

•       In restaurants, ask the chef to omit salt when preparing your meal

•       If you must add salt while cooking, add it at the very end. You will likely need much less

Researchers from the University of Naples analyzed data taken from 13 studies that explored the relationship between the amount of salt in the diet and the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. These studies involved over 177,000 individuals who were followed-up for up to 19 years.

Higher daily intake of salt was associated with a 23% increased risk of stroke and a 14 to 17% increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The authors estimated that if the world population reduced their daily intake of salt by as little as 5 g, this would avert about 1.25 million deaths from stroke and nearly three million deaths from cardiovascular disease every year.

Today's research provides strong evidence for watching the amount of salt in one's diet.