Low Sodium Diets: Is it Science or Blind Faith?

Espressocycle

Thought on this?

http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/blogs/lightningrod/item/55311

1. True or False: The American Heart Association's recommendation of 1,500 mg/day is still quite salty compared to diets our ancestors ate.
2. True or False: The average intake of 3,400 mg/day is skyrocketing over the consumption of a few decades ago.
Both are false, according to Brian Strom, a Penn professor of Public Health and Preventative Medicine and chair of the Institute of Medicine report.

The nut: Americans seem to take an almost religious attitude toward certain health-related practices and prohibitions. No matter what studies say, some people insist that all women over 40 must get a mammogram every year. Others assumed for ages that all fats are evil. There's a pervasive belief we can all live forever if we eat right.
The take away lesson for me is that we need to ask the medical establishment harder questions about how they arrive at the recommendations they do. Whether we're talking about cancer screening or dieting or an hour of cardio exercise, calcium supplements, or vitamin pills, there should be some evidence that it will have the promised benefits and do no harm.

ldrosophila

*couldnt get to your link

1, I would actually argue that maybe our salt intake is less. For years without refrigeration the only way to preserve meat and other food was to salt and cure (along with drying and smoking methods). Although maybe it wasn't because salt was such a valuable commodity in the ancient world. Worth more than gold in some cases.

2. Do we really now that the average intake has increased? Once again I would argue especially in the early industrial age and the age of our grandparents that as salt was more readily available and refrigeration still in it's infancy and new methods to process and preserve food that salt levels were higher. I could be wrong never looked into it, but anecodotally I have watched my Grandparents always over salt their food (no cardiac disease with any of them).

In salt sensitive individuals yes there is a strong correlation between high sodium diets and hypertension. High sodium diets replace other essential nutrients like potassium. Some new research says that it may actually be potassium deficient diets and not sodium that is leading to an increase in overall blood pressures. DASH diet has some pretty good research behind it, and has been shown to be effective in reducing recurrent MI and chronic hypertension.

I agree always ask about how recommendations are reached, but I do know with the salt recommendation there is some pretty good evidenced based practice . One more thought to add, unless medically indicated, teaching someone to eat a lower salt diet actually has some other advantages they eat less processed/refined food, focus more on fruits and vegetables, and usually lower their intake of high calorie snack foods like chips.

Personally, I love my salt, and have found that increasing my potassium intake and exercise has been more positive for my heart than following a low salt diet.

stealthq

A little of both.

Does any association know what is the optimum level of sodium for the 'average' person? No.

Are there negatives to eating very high levels of sodium (quantitative amt different per person)? Yes - dietary sodium contributes to inflammation. If you have a pre-existing autoimmune disorder, sodium may be a bigger problem (not yet proven that dietary salt causes the same effect):

Sodium chloride drives autoimmune disease by the induction of pathogenic TH17 cells
Nature (2013)
doi:10.1038/nature11868

As for the questions, how far back is Dr. Strom talking? Humans didn't always add salt to their food (yes, I get that it is on non-salted meats and plants). I find it hard to believe that my diet, which includes some items preserved with the assistance of salt, and is regularly around 1500mg is really comparable to our hunter/gatherer ancestors back before salt was used as a preservative or an additive of any kind. Given the minimum for survival is around 500mg per day, my guess is that they'd have been hovering somewhere around 1000mg.

Espressocycle

According to MFP, my sodium averages 3,000 - that's with mostly home-cooked food that I salt sensibly plus a little bit of food out and processed food. I really can't imagine going down to 1,500.

yarwell

I just let my kidneys look after it. I'm sure if I eat too much sodium they'll have me pee it out to maintain the osmolality of my bodily fluids.