February 23 2000 UNITED STATES 'Myth' of salt link to blood pressure is attacked MOVES by British supermarkets to cut the amount of salt in the food they sell are not based on sound scientific evidence, according to an American scientist. For years it has been believed that high salt consumption is a cause of high blood pressure, but this has never been fully supported by researchers or data, Dr David McCarron, of Oregon Health Sciences University, said. "In recent years the hold of the salt, blood pressure hypothesis has been severely weakened by a large volume of new information which has revealed with increasing clarity that, while dietary salt does play a role, for the general public it is certainly not the arch-enemy of normal blood pressure regulation," he told the American Association for the Advancement of Science, meeting in Washington. Calling the idea a "myth that had become dogma for the medical community and the public alike", Dr McCarron said that an international study involving 10,000 people in 52 countries, had failed to demonstrate the link. "Its investigators concluded that sodium intake was not significantly related to median blood pressure or prevalence of high blood pressure," he said. A number of studies had shown that blood pressure was reduced only very slightly, by one millimetre of mercury, when salt intake was reduced by 30 to 50 per cent. Nor was there evidence that reducing salt intake reduced heart attacks, he said. Some had actually shown an increase. Diets rich in fruit and vegetables and low in fat were much more effective, he said. NIGEL HAWKES