The original study mentioned in the linked article correlates high blood pressure with salt based on feeding rats the 'human equivalent of 500 grams of sodium per day'
That's about 2/3 of a package of salt that you buy at the grocery store a couple times a year.
A box of macaroni and cheese has 580mg. A can of regular non-low-sodium soup has 890mg.
When was the last time you had 560 cans of soup in one day?

A later study cited in the article shows that we humans vary in our reactions to 'high-salt' diets. Some people's BP goes up, some goes down, some stays the same.

More junk science just like saccharine will give you cancer (if you drink 4 or 5 hundred cans of diet soda per day).

I have no problem with salt. I do have a problem with HFCS (and ADM) but that's another discussion.

Well the one I just heard about was Syracuse Salt Potatoes.

I'm just worried about the carbs from the potatoes. The salt doesn't bother me a bit.

Want to reduce the carbs in potatoes? Shred them to hash, soak em ince cold water for about ten minutes and rinse for a few more inhot water, it knocks most of the starch out of them

wont work if you want a baked potato though

You can make a pretty good mashed potato substitute from cauliflower, though.

I don't salt my food as a rule, but I eat a LOT of salty food, like bacon. (Mmmm, bacon!) I do get the lower sodium when I can find it though, because I've found if I get too much salt I retain a LOT of water.

I'm an RN, and I eat salt on everything. Everything. If i could dump it in my morning Starbucks, I would. My BP usually sits around 105/60, so go figure.
My Dad had high BP, and he also was salt-sensitive. He knew from monitoring his pressure that salt did affect him. But that is a very individual issue. Most of us are not affected by sodium.
I think it's a riot that people get all spun up about salt when nicotine, caffiene, and sugar are way more harmful to the average Joe.

...because I've found if I get too much salt I retain a LOT of water.

This is my problem too, I blow up like a balloon! Especially when it's really humid outside. But my BP is usually around 100/70, and salt doesn't have a big effect on it.

I don't know yet, Amy. I've been cutting way back on carbs, but it's been difficult for me. I do like my pasta, but have been eating a lot less of it, and a lot less breads as well. I've always had low BP though. The only time it ever went above 100/70 was when I was pregnant with daughter #2. But I also had edema, and very mild (not above 140/90) pre-eclampsia as well, so that was a factor. I didn't take any meds while I was pregnant, but the dr upped my vitamin D dosage, and I wasn't having severe headaches, which is another symptom, but she delivered on time, and then I was right back at 100/70, like nothing ever happened.

Stopped worrying about salt when I moved to Israel. Nobody here seems to worry - there is more concern with not having enough salt in the hot summer.

As a disclaimer, this is just my personal experience. There are probably exceptions out there.

That being said, all the people I know who drink diet soda every single day are fat. I know plenty of people who drink full-sugar soda every day and are not fat, and are sometimes actually skinny. There are plenty of people who drink regular soda and are fat, but being fat seems to be much more prominent among diet soda drinkers. It's the weirdest thing.

Also, I eat a lot of salt. When I don't get enough salt, I start feeling weird, dizzy, and ill. Salt's been through the same yo-yo as eggs and butter... according to the research, one day it's good for you, the next it's bad for you. I've never taken much stock in survey research, anyhow.

There is one thing to remember about salt, though... It's water soluble, meaning that it flushes from the system very quickly. If you're going to get a health improvement from not eating salt, it'll show up within 72 hours of cutting it from your diet.

I'm a naturally low BP person too, 80s/60s usually. I don't watch salt either. I've never found a compelling reason too. I do retain fluids with a lot of salt, but it seems to be salty carbs that do it, not salty proteins. Either the problem is the carbs or there is just a lot more salt in carby stuff.

I also drink diet soda maybe three 20 oz bottles max a week. I'm quite thin. I have read that artificial sweeteners cause you to crave sweets, but that's not my experience and I don't eat sweets often. My "sweets" are tjings like peanut butter on celery or cucumbers, a small amount of berries, or dark chocolate. I also considered my Starbucks to be a treat.

At least the emphasis has changed. The current anti-salt assault is on "processed" foods, aka anything that is sold other than by the farm that produced it. This, while perhaps a fairly good idea for investigation, comes after years of attempts to get us to stop using table salt - which among other things has iodine added to cut down on thyroid problems, a major success story since the 1940`s.

I was a bit surprised also by "in part because a small percentage of the population, including some African-Americans and elderly individuals, seem to be hypersensitive to salt," because I saw a study years back that descendants of North-Western African descent are more likely to be genetically sensitive to "high" levels of salt and develop hypertension - I suspect this has been skipped over since as being Politically inCorrect, though it should be no more so than North European descent is likely to be less lactose-intolerant than far-Eastern descent.

I don't "watch" salt intake (never have had high bp, tend to be a little on the low side there) and that's not something I check on labels but I absoluately hate the taste of it...I've thrown away food from so many restaurants because they used salt in the prep and I think it tastes gross. And I don't have any in the house (which annoys friends when they come over but tough).

My mom used to leave rock salt out in bowls for us kids in summers in CO. We ran, we sweated, we drank from the hose, and ate rock salk. Mmmmm.

The fatties I know all drink diet soda. I'm not a soda girl, but if i'm drinking one it's real.

My problem is crispy chicken-I really like it in a salad, but it's got carbs.

One of the reasons I avoid soda drinks in general is something I learned in the army many years ago. Both Coke and Pepsi are great for cleaning the crud out of rifle barrels. Powder and lead residue can't stand up to the power of America's favorite soft drinks. By the way, it was against regulations since rifle barrels can't stand up to them either.

momof4:

My problem is crispy chicken

Try this recipe. Easy, relatively healthy, and addictive:

http://leitesculinaria.com/5456/recipes-oven-fried-chicken.html

"Wonder if whether you eat carbs makes a dif in that, Flynne."

It does for me. If I get a high dose of carbs I will have the ankles of a woman in her 8th month of pregnancy. Salt does it too, though, but only if I get a really high-salt meal, which generally means Chinese for me.

"Wonder if whether you eat carbs makes a dif in that, Flynne."

It does for me. If I get a high dose of carbs I will have the ankles of a woman in her 8th month of pregnancy. Salt does it too, though, but only if I get a really high-salt meal, which generally means Chinese for me.