I know what you may be thinking. I have cherry picked one study to make a point. Well yes, this is just one study. However, it is the biggest and longest ever done. It represents one small part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
And, although it is only a small part, it represents very nearly ‘one-million-person years’ of observation. Of course, like all nutritional studies it has its weaknesses, but you will find nothing bigger, longer, or better than this. And if you want to find one that contradicts it – feel free – and good luck.
This is the full study, which has many more graphs like the one used. Most ages go up in a U shape, but that one was for people 40-60 and it did not.:
Apparently, almost everything that I like to eat accelerates aging. Some people, including one of my daughters, enjoy very low or no salt in their food. I do not need excess salt, but many things that I eat like steak and potatoes, are very bland without it
If food is not a joy to eat, I’m not interested.
As you know well, with age people’s ability to taste salt declines. This is a big reason why many elderly people tend to put a lot of salt in their food - I’ve observed this with a friend of mine who prided himself in being a great amateur chef. He loved throwing parties and serving up a feast he cooked. Well, when he moved into his 70’s, we all noticed his food got notably saltier, to the point where some of us could no longer enjoy it, while others who aged in concert with him kept loving it.
As I have low blood pressure, LDL and triglycerides I personally am not worried about increased heart attack risk from salt intake. But there seems to be strong evidence it causes stomach cancer. You see this in Japan in places where they eat huge amounts of miso. So I would avoid excess intake regardless.
Titze claimed also that dietary salt does not increase blood pressure through extra cell volume expansion, which is the common view. Makes sense in the scenario salt increases risk of chronic hypertension (regardless of later intake after diagnosis), and salt exposure might cause hypertension in some way seen as hypertension prevalence with aging?
This is also why excess salt intake might be bad even if you have low or normal blood pressure @Tilmitt
