Cut salt to prevent heart disease

A new research has shown that heart disease could be cut by almost a fifth if food companies were banned from adding too much salt to their products.

A major study has found such laws would be 20 times more effective in improving health than offering dietary advice, reports the Daily Mail .

Experts say eating less salt, which increases blood pressure and the risk of heart disease, could prevent up to fifth of deaths.

Guidelines recommend that people eat no more than 6 grams of salt a day, although average daily consumption in the UK is 9g.

Many foods, including ready meals, pizzas and sandwiches, contain well over half the recommended daily amount in a single portion.

Researchers in Australia found that forcing companies to limit the amount of salt in their products would cut deaths from heart disease by 18 per cent.

Such restrictions might include banning ready meals from having more than 3g of salt and crisps and sandwiches more than 0.6g.

The study concluded that it was not enough to advise people on healthy eating and hope they choose to cut down on salt.

The study has been published in the journal Heart .

Coffee's the secret to long life

Sipping a hot cup of coffee daily could give you more than a healthful lift of energy. The drink helps people live longer by warding off heart disease, a study has revealed.

Researchers at the University of Athens have carried out the study and found that drinking a cup of coffee everyday improves elasticity of the arteries, which can stave off heart disease, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

In fact, the researchers have based their findings on an analysis of 485 people with high blood pressure.

The subjects of the study were all aged between 65 and 100 and longterm inhabitants of Greek island of Ikaria. It is known as the "land of longevity" and a third of residents reach the age of 90.

Dr Christina Chrysohoou, who led the study, said there was conflicting evidence about the effect of coffee drinking on heart health, with some research showing it aggravated high blood pressure.

"But drinking coffee is a deeply embedded social tradition in Greek culture which made it imperative to probe on this island of 'high life-expectancy," she said.

In the study, the subjects' arteries were assessed for distensibility -- or elasticity. The 56 per cent who were moderate coffee drinkers consuming between one and two cups a day, had best arterial health, with their blood vessels behaving like those found in younger people.

Their arteries were more elastic than those measured in people who drank little or no coffee. Around one in 10 who drank three or more cups a day had the least elasticity.

Dr Chrysohoou said moderate coffee drinkers consumed 25-50ml of coffee a day. Typically they were drinking strong Greek coffee but other types might work as well.

She suggested that ingredients such as caffeine and antioxidants may partly improve arterial function by increasing the ability to take up nitric oxide, which is impaired in hypertensive patients.

The findings have been released at European Society of Cardiology Congress in Stockholm.