Salt is worse than sugar, says Canada's leading sodium doctor

A decade ago, the low-carb, high-fat diet was all the rage.Then the world went gluten-free.Noweveryone is quitting sugar.

• How much salt is too much?

But one Calgary doctor is reminding us not to forget about the other s-word salt.

"[Sugar is] not of the same impact as salt and not associated with as many diseases. Salt is worse than sugar," said Dr. Norm Campbell with the University of Calgary'sLibin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta.

He saysahigh sodium diet can wreak havoc on a healthy body in many different ways:

1. Hypertension

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease.

"In Canada, and indeed most Western countries, 90 per cent of us will develop hypertension," said Campbell, who isalso the Chair in Hypertension Prevention and Control.

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While not every person develop hypertension because of a salty diet, the risk is still high.

"About one-third of hypertension around the world is caused by excess dietary salt, so about 300 million people in the world have hypertension due to excess salt and over twomillion in Canada."

2. Rheumatoid arthritis andMS

Excessive salt consumption can also lead to autoimmune diseases likemultiple sclerosis(MS) andrheumatoid arthritis.

According to the U.S.-basedArthritis Foundation, people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may feel salt's effects even more as corticosteroids, which are commonly used to treat RA, cause the body to hold more sodium.

3.Migraines

While some bloggers maintain salt can help with migraines, Campbell said that's not what he has found.

4. Cancer

Many studies have found links between high sodium intake and gastric cancer.

Campbell says salt has also been associated with total cancer death renal cell cancer, a type of kidney cancer.

5. Obesity

Your grandparents are not the only demographicwho would benefit from a low-salt diet.

"About 80 per cent of the salt that we eat is in processed foods," said Campbell.

He says one of the best ways to lower your sodium intake is to eat fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, seeds and lean meat and poultry.