Good News For People Who Salt Their Food Like They're Salting The Road
Me, for one. I long ago read Gary Taubes' award-winning piece in Science on the lack of evidence that salt is detrimental, and ever since, have been salting my food so vigorously that people sometimes look on me with worry.
I like that wonderful French sea salt in the cute cardboard container with the whale on it. Baleine, I think. Have had a thing of it for about 10 years, and I'm just running low now.
On Reuters, Kate Kelland reports on a review led by Copehagen University Hospital's Niels Graudal of 167 studies on salt:
The review ... found that while cutting down on salt reduced blood pressure in people who have normal or high blood pressure, it also caused increases in some hormones and other compounds that can adversely affect people's heart health....Lowering salt intake is known to reduce blood pressure, but research has yet to show whether that translates into better overall heart health in the wider population.
Despite that, many countries have government-sanctioned guidelines calling on people to cut their salt or sodium intake for the sake of their longer-term health.
A few examples from studies:
A separate Cochrane Library review conducted by British researchers and published in July found no evidence that small reductions in salt intake lowered the risk of developing heart disease or dying prematurely.And another study by Belgian scientists published in May found that people who ate lots of salt were no more likely to get high blood pressure, and were statistically less likely to die of heart disease, than those with low salt intake.
Graudal said his results showed that when salt intake is reduced, there are increases in some hormones and in fats known as lipids "which could be harmful if persistent over time."
He added that because none of the studies in the review were able to measure long-term health effects, his team was not able to say "if low salt diets improve or worsen health outcomes."
Graudal said the growing number of studies questioning the net benefit of salt reduction meant public health officials should look again at their guidelines.
Despite barely exercising, and probably because I eat a diet of meat, meat, bacon, and buttered green beans (and probably also due to genetics), I have blood pressure that wows the nurse at Kaiser every time she reads it. I'm going to continue salting my food with abandon. You?
As P.J. O'Rourke said, "Salt doesn't make steaks tough, poverty makes steaks tough, and sometimes absent entirely".
I do have high blood pressure and I still use however much salt I want. It runs in my family anyway, and the link between improved health outcomes from lowered blood pressure, as opposed to just an improved number, is tenuous indeed.
Although my perennial favourite is Malden sea salt, there are some very nice lake salts available in Australia, a bit milder perhaps, but with a very nice flavour.
Ltw at November 11, 2011 4:37 AM
I call BS on the "gourmet" salt trend.
Malden, shmalden.
Baleine, shmaleine.
It's salt.
Ben David at November 11, 2011 5:04 AM
I don't salt my food, but that's just because I don't like the taste of extra salt (I think it's an aversion from when I kept getting mouth ulcers as a kid--salt stings those like you wouldn't believe). I don't tend to worry much about the salt that's already there.
silverpie at November 11, 2011 5:58 AM
The clearest pattern in all of these studies and meta-studies is that there is no correlation, and that they're measuring noise. The most charitable thing that can be said is that there may be some teensy weensy benefit, but it's so overwhelmed by other everyday variables that in order to derive any benefit from reducing salt intake, you'd have to totally rearrange your life. And then, it would be impossible to separate the effects.
Cousin Dave at November 11, 2011 6:03 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/11/11/good_news_for_p.html#comment-2757076">comment from Ben DavidI call BS on the "gourmet" salt trend. Malden, shmalden. Baleine, shmaleine. It's salt.
Always amazed when people with no knowledge whatsoever "call BS" on something.
Here's Dr. Mary Dan Eades on salt.
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmd_blog/food-and-food-products/a-grain-of-salt/
Amy Alkon at November 11, 2011 6:10 AM
I too salt everything, and fairly copiously. I've only ever used regular table salt, but I'll have to try a few varieties of natural sea salt. If it tastes even better than table salt, I'm all for it.
And to add to the post, my blood pressure is below "normal". It does run in my family to have low blood pressure.
Jazzhands at November 11, 2011 6:34 AM
The only time I cut down on salt was during the last month of my pregnancy, when I developed high blood pressure. It was short-lived and simply a safety precaution to lessen the likelihood of complications to both my health and my baby's.
The rest of my life, including now, I like salt and will continue to eat food that contains salt, however much.
Jessica F. at November 11, 2011 8:19 AM
I call BS on the "gourmet" salt trend... It's salt.
Salt is salt. Coffee is coffee. Chocolate is chocolate. Wine is wine. Right? Of course not. The subtle differences matter.
Christopher at November 11, 2011 8:21 AM
I love salt!
Melody at November 11, 2011 8:30 AM
My doctor says salt makes my ankles swell. I say ok and cut down on processed food but not my sea salt intake. Seems to work - but large sushi and sashimi dinners make by feet this big. Such is life.
Dave B at November 11, 2011 8:42 AM
Amy,
Trader Joe's has a sea salt that's easy on the pocketbook, fyi.
Janet C at November 11, 2011 9:20 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/11/11/good_news_for_p.html#comment-2757213">comment from Janet CThanks -- but I've found mine has lasted for more than a decade, I think.
Amy Alkon at November 11, 2011 9:37 AM
My blood pressure, as a rule, is usually 100/70. I love salt, always have, always will. I use salt, always have, always will. I even used to salt my pizza! Not so much anymore, though. I don't cook with it because BF doesn't like it or use it, but I salt my food before I eat it. Lately I've been using Morton's extra course sea salt in the grinder. Not a lot. a little goes a long way. There's no iodine in it, though.
Flynne at November 11, 2011 9:50 AM
I never believed that the salt police were motivated by sincere concern for public health. Just about everything edible has salt or can be salted, so if they can control everyone's salt intake, they're a long way towards their goal of controlling everyone's diet. There's a parallel here with the green police & their obsession with CO2.
Martin at November 11, 2011 10:01 AM
I never believed that the salt police were motivated by sincere concern for public health. Just about everything edible has salt or can be salted, so if they can control everyone's salt intake, they're a long way towards their goal of controlling everyone's diet.
Yes, it's a big conspiracy. Not bad science! Occam's what?
Christopher at November 11, 2011 10:17 AM
I would bet my balls that salt is FAR better for you than sugar, or at least, less bad for you in large doses.
I haven't used any salt in the last 3 months, because I've been trying to eliminate all sources of food that are potentially unhealthy (I've gone on a pretty borderline insane experiment), but I'll probably pick up some sea salt next time--that's pretty interesting what Mary Dan Eades said...
UberApe at November 11, 2011 10:27 AM
Christopher, the tenuousness of the scientific case against salt has been clear for some time now. Scientific American published an excellent survey in July:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=its-time-to-end-the-war-on-salt
As the subtitle says, "the zealous drive by politicians to limit our salt intake has little basis in science". There's no denying that the war on salt has a powerful political aspect, or that policy makers who are still waging it in the face of the evidence do not have pure motives.
Martin at November 11, 2011 11:06 AM
Of course, you’ll want to take that with a grain of — you know.
Snoopy at November 11, 2011 11:48 AM
Martin, I think it's a much simpler explanation to assume that policy makers are unaware of current science and are too lazy to dig in and update their guidelines ("everyone knows that salt is bad for you!") than to assume there is some vast conspiracy to control people's diets.
Christopher at November 11, 2011 12:11 PM
Listen, I'm the first to be hopeful that these reviews and studies are showing realistic and true proof that salt isn't bad for us. I love salt, and I have high blood pressure. But studies can be interpreted in ways that aren't always accurate representations. For example, Amy cites:
..."He added that because none of the studies in the review were able to measure long-term health effects, his team was not able to say if low salt diets improve or worsen health outcomes."
Why weren't they able to measure long term outcomes? Because they weren't there or because the study wasn't equipped to make such a measurement?
I don't know that anyone would argue that high blood pressure is bad for us. And if I can get my bp down, that's good, right?
This reminds me of my step father, an idiotic man, who said to me many times that no one had proven that cigarettes cause cancer. I argued time and time again that studies don't PROVE anything, they simply narrow down the statistical probability. He died in his early 60's of lung cancer. But of course, there's no proof it was because of his three pack a day habit.
Not that I have given up salt. I love the stuff. But I won't hide my head in the sand about it's effect on my body. I'll keep listening.
Laurie at November 11, 2011 12:13 PM
A few problems with typical studies on salt and other foods:
1) If it's an observational study, it can show only relationships, not cause and effect.
2) Studies in which participants' food is measured or controlled are necessarily short term. Over the long term, people tend to revert back to their usual diet, no matter what they've been assigned to eat.
3) "Significant" is a statistical term meaning that any effect is due to the cause being studied, not necessarily that the effect is large enough to be meaningful.
I agree that salt from different sources have different flavors. The Himalayan salt I use tastes better than the stuff in the blue box.
Lori at November 11, 2011 3:58 PM
If you have higher-than-normal blood pressure, using less salt may help bring it down. But this does not mean that excess salt intake will cause increased blood pressure, at least not to the point of endangering health, unless your genetic background includes people from one particular area. Like sickle-cell anemia or haemophilia, it is probably inherited.
Though she stopped blogging, archives are useful -
junkfoodscience.blogspot.com
another -
john-ray.blogspot.com
John A at November 11, 2011 4:36 PM
If you look at almost any baking recipe -- about 70% of them call for the use of a teaspoon of salt (more or less).
Just Google "salt in baking" and you will find that it enhances the flavor.
Jim P. at November 11, 2011 6:39 PM
Well, we always knew you were just the salt of the earth, Amy.
Patrick at November 12, 2011 9:58 AM
silverpie: I don't salt my food, but that's just because I don't like the taste of extra salt.
Same here. I prefer fresh ground pepper (Black Malabar) to salt. And when I do use salt, it's Himalayan Pink.
Jim at November 12, 2011 1:37 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/11/11/good_news_for_p.html#comment-2759029">comment from JimIt takes a real man to use pink salt.
Amy Alkon at November 12, 2011 2:30 PM
Even more so when he puts it on his frites féminines.
Jim at November 12, 2011 4:32 PM
?
"Girly taters"?
Crid at November 12, 2011 5:15 PM
"Despite barely exercising, and probably because I eat a diet of meat, meat, bacon, and buttered green beans (and probably also due to genetics), I have blood pressure that wows the nurse at Kaiser every time she reads it. I'm going to continue salting my food with abandon. You?
Well, ok. I don't pay any attention, because it's not an issue. But:
"Always amazed when people with no knowledge whatsoever "call BS" on something."
But you haven't shown cause/effect in your own case. You aren't showing evidence that your choice here is what set your blood pressure; in fact, you show a bunch of other factors.
You might be right, but only might at this point. You could be genetically gifted, like those northern Italians with cholesterol that should have killed them by now. 800+, IIRC.
I suggest your BP is low because you don't hold anything back, and lower stress that way. I'm amazed Gregg is still alive (VBG)!
Radwaste at November 14, 2011 4:30 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/11/11/good_news_for_p.html#comment-2763479">comment from RadwasteRead Gary Taubes' piece on salt in "Science." Why stop eating salt if the science doesn't support that?
You're "amazed Gregg is still alive"? Gregg's doctor is amazed at how much healthier he is thanks to how I have him eating.
Amy Alkon at November 14, 2011 4:54 PM
Sorry - the ref to Gregg is that you don't hold anything back, so the extremes could be, uh, strenuous!
And, again, salt is only part of the story with you, just as with others. If you're gonna be scientific, well, hey - start!
Radwaste at November 14, 2011 5:07 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/11/11/good_news_for_p.html#comment-2763505">comment from RadwasteActually, it may seem to you that I don't hold anything back, but there are secrets that I've kept for 30 years, and I also don't tell people things that make them uncomfortable -- not unless that's some sort of strategy. I just try to make Gregg healthy and happy.
And yes, salt is only part of the story, and a large part of the rest of the story that comprises health is cutting out sugar, flour, starchy vegetables like potatoes, fruit juice (and maybe fruit). This is an evidence-based diet, as opposed to those you find in much of mainstream media telling you that cholesterol causes heart disease (unproven) and that you should eat a high-carb/lowfat diet.
Amy Alkon at November 14, 2011 5:10 PM
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