Health

Adding too much salt to food could increase risk of Type 2 diabetes, study says

By Mallika Marshall, MD

November 6, 2023 / 5:30 PM EST / CBS Boston

BOSTON - Adding salt to your food could increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes. Typically, we think of high blood pressure with added salt.

But researchers at Tulane University studied more than 400,000 adults in the United Kingdom over 12 years and found that compared to people who "never or rarely" added salt to foods, those who "sometimes" added salt had a 13% higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

Those who "usually" added salt had a 20% higher risk; and those who "always" added salt had a 39% higher risk of becoming diabetic.

Scientists think adding salt to food can lead to overeating which can cause weight gain and inflammation and suggest removing the saltshaker from the table could help reduce temptation.

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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