Morning Briefing

Researchers from the Universities of Warwick and Liverpool in a report published on Thursday in the British Medical Journal called for the U.N. to "make reducing salt intake a global health priority," stating that "a 15 percent cut in consumption could save 8.5 million lives around the world over the next decade," BBC News reports. "The researchers say there is a 'consistent, direct relation between salt intake and blood pressure,'" which "in turn is linked to heart disease, stroke and kidney problems," and "[t]hey point to the U.S., where cutting salt intake by a third would save tens of thousands of lives and save up to $24 billion annually in health care costs," the news agency reports.