In alarming news, a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that there are an estimated 1.65 million deaths worldwide linked to high sodium consumption each year.
For the study, researchers first analyzed data from 205 surveys of sodium intake from 187 different countries all across the globe—and the results were shocking. Turns out, people around the world consumed an average of 3.95 grams per day in 2010, when the surveys went out—and that’s nearly double the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of two grams per day! Some regions were on the higher and lower end of the spectrum—Central Asia, for instance, averaged 5.51 grams per day; sub-saharan African was lower, at 2.18 grams per day; the U.S. came in at 3.6 grams per day—but all regions came out above the WHO recommended amount.
The researchers didn’t stop at examining how much sodium people consume. They also looked at the current rates of cardiovascular diseases around the world to estimate how that rate could potentially be linked to the high sodium consumption. And get this: They concluded that 1.65 million global cardiovascular deaths were likely linked to excessive sodium intake (that’s nearly 10 percent of all cardiovascular deaths). And in the U.S., researchers found that nearly 58,000 cardiovascular deaths are attributed to consuming more than two grams of sodium per day (about 10 percent of all heart disease-related deaths in this country).
The study did have a couple of limitations. The authors pointed out that they analyzed results based on urine samples, which may underestimate sodium intake—meaning the average global intake could actually be even higher. What’s more, some countries lack concrete data on sodium consumption, so certain estimates were less reliable than others.
Regardless, the point still stands: Our world is facing a global sodium crisis. People consume too much of the stuff, and it’s causing too many deaths. Period. To start decreasing your intake today, check out these easy ways to cut salt from your diet.