That's Fit

New research is shaking up the belief that a low-salt diet benefits heart health. A low-sodium diet has long been recommended to lower blood pressure, but this new research suggests that lower sodium may not impact heart health as much as previously thought ... if at all.

Through surveys, researchers followed the health of over 8,000 participants over a period of years. After adjusting for other risk factors, the participants who consumed the least salt were 80% more likely to die from cardiac disease.

It's important to note that the researchers are not implying that a low-salt diet could be a causative factor for heart disease. Rather, they're questioning the efficacy of low-sodium diets for heart health and questioning whether it makes sense for doctors to recommend lowering sodium intake for people who have no other health problems. Personally, I'm having a hard time shaking the low-sodium belief. What do you think?

Because I have asthma, and because it interferes with my ability to exercise, I'm constantly on the look out for new diet and environment-based ways to reduce my symptoms. I'm on a good regimen of medications and starting last winter, immunotherapy. I know that a healthy lifestyle will complement those things and possibly help reduce the amount of medication I have to take.

I was surprised recently to learn that a high-salt diet has been linked to exercise-induced asthma. When researchers put a group of asthmatics on a high-salt diet, their airway functions declined significantly and rapidly. This is important, because Americans, whose asthma rates are climbing, have been turning away from fresh, natural foods and toward processed boxed and frozen goods that are loaded with sodium. I'll definitely be watching the salt in my diet much more closely from now on.

Men's Health recently listed the 20 saltiest foods in America. Though these aren't the only foods to avoid if you're cutting sodium, they're definitely at the top of the list! Check out AOL Body for more low-sodium tips.

How do you limit the amount of sodium in your diet?