A new study comes to the surprising conclusiont hat your salt intake matters a whole lot less than you think it does.

Scientists found that lowering your salt intake may actually increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a McMaster University statement.

In fact, only people with hypertension or who already consume high levels of salt actually need a low-salt diet — everyone else may actually be doing their bodies harm.

The study involved more than 130,000 participants in 49 countries. Researchers looked at the relationship between salt intake, blood pressure, and cardiovascular health issues and mortality. They found that low-sodium intake actually correlated with more heart attacks, strokes, and death, not less.

Of course, that’s comparing it to average salt intake, so it’s still probably not a good idea to eat a high-salt diet.

It’s a major finding that could totally change what kind of diets doctors recommend to their patients.

Even for those who have hypertension, the study indicates that it may be wise to reduce high salt intake to just average salt intake, rather than to low levels.