The War on Salt

Is salt as unhealthy as you've been told?  Maybe not:

"This week a meta-analysis of seven studies involving a total of 6,250 subjects in the American Journal of Hypertension found no strong evidence that cutting salt intake reduces the risk for heart attacks, strokes or death in people with normal or high blood pressure. In May European researchers publishing in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the less sodium that study subjects excreted in their urine—an excellent measure of prior consumption—the greater their risk was of dying from heart disease. These findings call into question the common wisdom that excess salt is bad for you, but the evidence linking salt to heart disease has always been tenuous."

That's from Scientific American, read the whole thing: It's Time to End the War on Salt.

Comments

 Amen!As part of the new USDA

Submitted by Primal Toad on Tue, 07/12/2011 - 10:06.

 Amen!As part of the new USDA dietary guidelines one of the big keys is to limit salt intake. This is smart if you eat processed foods. Possibly stupid if you don't like us paleos.Salt, or sodium, is a nutrient. Its an electrolyte. The key is balance. If i remember correctly, we want twice as much potassium as sodium... I could be wrong but its close to an even balance or 2:1. Adding some sea salt or himalayan salt to foods when you cook your own foods can be extremely beneficial.Did you all know that king crab is loaded with sodium? Its also loaded with other minerals, vitamins and protein. Its a superfood in my book.If you buy foods with labels then watch your sodium intake. If you buy whole cows, hunt your own deer, buy fish, eat lots of veggies, some fruit, etc. then add some sea salt or himalayan salt to your foods!

That is great, but if your

Submitted by Frank on Tue, 07/12/2011 - 01:22.

That is great, but if your trying to go "paleo" then obviously hunter-gatherers do not pour salt on every meal they eat, so therefor it is not technically paleo?

I don't know why it always

Submitted by Anivair on Tue, 07/12/2011 - 08:20.

I don't know why it always comes down to "caveman did it" with paleo folk ... the paleo diet is not a historical reinactment.  It's not a revivalist religion.  it's a modern diet based on evolutionary medicine.  No, cavemen didn't eat a ton of salt (not here, though I'm willing to wager if they lived on the ocean, they ate quite a bit).  But the question is whether or not eating salt is bad for you and in a moderate quantity, as long as you're sufficiently hydrated, there really is not a down side.   

 bottom line for me with salt

Submitted by Anivair on Mon, 07/11/2011 - 10:26.

 bottom line for me with salt has always been this:  don't eat it by the spoonfull and drink enough water to help your body get it moving.  Done.