IANS

London, Jun 23: Cutting the amount of salt in food can prevent thousands of deaths from heart disease, say British researchers.

Britain's National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has called on the food industry to help decrease huge numbers of unnecessary deaths by reducing the level of salt in everyday products, reports express.co.uk.

As per the new guidelines by NICE, maximum salt intake per adult should be six grams a day by 2015, and three grams a day by 2025.

Over 40,000 people die from premature cardiovascular disease in Britain every year and six million men and women suffer from heart disease.

"These clear and important recommendations from NICE strengthen and endorse the current salt reduction campaign in the Britain," Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine and chairman of campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health, was quoted as saying.

"This will result in hundreds of millions of pounds of savings because for every one gram reduction in salt intake, more than 12,000 strokes and heart attacks will be prevented. This is of even greater importance given the cost savings that must be made by the present government," he added.