People who add extra salt to their meals are at more risk of an early death.
Adding extra salt to food increased the risk of a premature death
Research involving more than 500,000 people discovered that those who always add salt to their food at the table have a 28 per cent increased risk of dying prematurely from any cause compared with those who never or rarely add it.
The study was led by Professor Lu Qi, of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, along with colleagues from Harvard medical schools.
The professor said: "Even a modest reduction in sodium intake, by adding less or no salt to food at the table, is likely to result in substantial health benefits, especially when it is achieved in the general population."
Chloe MacArthur, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, added: "We need some salt in our diet, but eating too much may lead to high blood pressure, which in turn raises the risk of heart attack and stroke."