Blood pressure can be raised by consuming too much salt. This relationship has been quantified as a public health message.
A reduction of just 1 gram in daily salt intake could prevent 9 million cases of stroke and heart attack in China over the next 15 years, according to a study.
It's possible that a simple measure could save a lot of lives.
The World Health Organization recommends 5 grams of salt per day for Chinese people. The latest statistics on population size, salt consumption, blood pressure and disease rates were gathered by the researchers.
The researchers wrote in their paper that previous estimations of the health impact of reducing salt intake in China used either obsolete or unreliable data sources.
Reducing salt intake to the recommended 5 grams per day is one of the scenarios the team looked at.
Up to two times as many deaths could be prevented if the targets are hit.
The reduction would have to be consistent over time. Most people wouldn't find it hard to hit that 1 gram per day target, according to education programs in Chinese schools.
Some of the trials on low-sodium high-potassium salt substitute and health education to home cooks have already shown promising results.
Cardiovascular disease accounts for a massive 40 percent of deaths in China and is thought to be one of the main contributors.
The authors of the study only looked at cardiovascular disease, but they suggest that lowering salt intake would have other benefits. Too much salt has been linked to a number of diseases.
The Chinese government has launched a campaign to get people to eat less salt. The numbers produced in this study are compelling, but it will be difficult with a population of over one billion people.
There is a need for a salt reduction programme that is workable, coherent, sustainable and targeting current and upcoming major sources of salt in China.
The research has appeared in a journal.
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