Does salt cause high cholesterol?

It's been proven that cutting salt intake can actually increase a person's blood cholesterol. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Hypertension found that reducing dietary sodium may contribute to high cholesterol, triglycerides and other negative health effects. Sodium is where most Americans get their salt.

More specifically, the study found that a low-sodium diet led to a 2.5 percent jump in the participants' cholesterol levels.

The researchers conducted what's known in the statistics world a meta-analysis, which means they used previously published studies on the subject to arrive at their conclusions. In this case, they used 167 studies for their research findings.