The low salt idea is wrong?

saintor1

This guy thinks so:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4546722/Salt-won-t-heart-attack-says-scientist.html

Current daily guidelines limit you to 2.4g of sodium
...
Average Korean, for instance, eats over 4g of sodium a day - yet they have some of world’s lowest rates for hypertension and coronary heart disease

Also in evidence the video in which a cardiologist from Halifax reviewed a few studies and concluded that our salt intake was too low. I'll have to dig for it.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

I don't watch my salt levels.

laurenebargar

^^ I dont either, although I will say if I consume too much sodium (like the pizza I had last night) I will hold onto water weight for a few days no matter how much water I drink.

fionadg

unless you have high blood pressure you don`t need to be too concerned about salt

Noreenmarie1234

goood because I eat over 6000mg daily

Need2Exerc1se

There are plenty of nutrition scientists who disagree. I don't watch sodium because I don't like a lot of salt anyway. But when I eat a lot, I can tell and I don't like the feeling.

Ironandwine69

I watch my salt level because I tend to not get enough.

lemurcat12

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »

I don't watch my salt levels.

Me either. It's reasonably rare when I eat a high sodium meal, and I don't add salt to cooked food, but I enjoy high sodium foods like olives and pickled things and use salt when cooking (I think it makes a difference, even if a subtle one). I don't think I use a huge amount in that I definitely will find that some food out tastes too salty to me, but I don't watch it and have never had an issue with blood pressure. I don't think I'm especially sensitive to bloating from salt as eating out doesn't seem to cause water retention (even going to a pub for fish and chips or some such), but I definitely notice it from some other things, like flying.

Aarjono

I do have to watch my sodium intake because if I have too much, I get pitting edema and a Meniere's episode.

Geocitiesuser

If I don't eat enough salt I might die. Salt is EXTREMELY important to all forms of life, and especially humans who are physically active. Gatorade is just fruit punch with salt in it, but they call it "electrolytes" for marketing.

stealthq

Agree that salt is something only those with hypertension or other health issues complicated by high blood pressure need to closely watch, if for no other reason than to verify that high salt meals aren't affecting their blood pressure.

However.

You have to be careful with the kinds of studies this article is talking about. Looking at one ethnic background, particularly from one region of the world means you're looking at the effects of a narrow range of genetic profiles and cultural influences (diet, activity, etc) as well as the effects of regularly eating high salt.

It may be that Koreans are genetically predisposed to less cardiovascular disease (CVD) than other ethnic groups given equivalent risk factors. There is some hint that could be true. Koreans have a high rate of smoking among men, and still have low rates of hypertension and CVD. Yet smoking has clearly been established as a risk factor for both in other ethnic groups.

It may also be that some other aspect of Korean culture or environment is CVD-protective, or it could be the combination of any or all of the three. The point being that what applies to Koreans may not apply to (as a random example) Scandinavians.

RuNaRoUnDaFiEld

Geocitiesuser wrote: »

If I don't eat enough salt I might die. Salt is EXTREMELY important to all forms of life, and especially humans who are physically active. Gatorade is just fruit punch with salt in it, but they call it "electrolytes" for marketing.

Not quite, Gatorade has 4 of the 7 major electrolytes in it.

Gallowmere1984

I have to watch sodium intake, as I bloat like a waterlogged corpse if it gets out of hand. That said, I still end up needing to salt my food, because I buy no salt added stuff all of the time. This is for two reasons.

A: it allows me to control my sodium intake precisely without having it impact my macro intake.
B: companies tend to use non-iodized salt in their products to save on costs. Iodine deficiency is actually starting to become a problem again, and amusingly enough, since I started using iodized salt, my damned caloric requirements have steadily increased. Makes sense when one considers what iodine is needed for.

NorthCascades

I eat a lot of salt. Love the stuff. I also bike and ski and run quite a bit so I sweat more than most people.

annaskiski

Latest studies show too little salt is bad for everyone, where as too much salt was only bad for those with hypertension..

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe1407695#t=article


A summary of article:


https://www.cardiosmart.org/News-and-Events/2016/07/Too-Much-and-Too-Little-Salt-is-Associated-with-Increased-Heart-Risks

In both groups, low sodium intake (less than 3,000 mg/day) was associated with 26–34% greater risk for heart events and death compared to moderate sodium intake (4,000–5,000 mg/day). However, high sodium intake (more than 7,000 mg/day) only increased risk for heart events and death in adults with hypertension.

MsHarryWinston

I have to be careful with my salt intake. I retain water super easily which is more annoying than a health risk. But on the health side too much salt and I feel INSANELY ill. Like, a V8 will knock me on my butt.

CSARdiver

Yet another example of the sad state of journalism. Reviewing the source data is a must.

While a risk factor in pre-existing conditions overreacting and adopting a low-salt (or any other) diet without any information is not a very wise course of action.

kshama2001

I gave up excessive salt right before bed and am sleeping through the night again, hooray!

I'm no where near low salt, though.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/salt-sodium-nighttime-bathroom-trips-nocturia/

peckchris3267

Salt doesn't cause high blood pressure but should be monitored if you do have high blood pressure. Other than that there is no need to watch it.

NorthCascades

Apparently too much salt can make you have to pee too much.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/bladder-and-bowel/reducing-dietary-salt-may-mean-fewer-nighttime-bathroom-trips

I would guess that if this is true (eg there isn't a third variable influencing salt intake and need to pee), it's because a salty diet makes people thirsty and they drink more as a result.

lemurcat12

NorthCascades wrote: »

Apparently too much salt can make you have to pee too much.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/bladder-and-bowel/reducing-dietary-salt-may-mean-fewer-nighttime-bathroom-trips

I would guess that if this is true (eg there isn't a third variable influencing salt intake and need to pee), it's because a salty diet makes people thirsty and they drink more as a result.

Weirdly enough, no, at least according to this recent study: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170417182920.htm

Increased salt DID increase urine output, but:

"The results confirmed that eating more salt led to a higher salt content in urine -- no surprise there. Nor was there any surprise in a correlation between amounts of salt and overall quantity of urine. But the increase wasn't due to more drinking -- in fact, a salty diet caused the subjects to drink less. Salt was triggering a mechanism to conserve water in the kidneys.

Before the study, the prevailing hypothesis had been that the charged sodium and chloride ions in salt grabbed onto water molecules and dragged them into the urine. The new results showed something different: salt stayed in the urine, while water moved back into the kidney and body. This was completely puzzling to Prof. Jens Titze, MD of the University of Erlangen and Vanderbilt University Medical Center and his colleagues. "What alternative driving force could make water move back?" Titze asked.

Experiments in mice hinted that urea might be involved. This substance is formed in muscles and the liver as a way of shedding nitrogen. In mice, urea was accumulating in the kidney, where it counteracts the water-drawing force of sodium and chloride. But synthesizing urea takes a lot of energy, which explains why mice on a high-salt diet were eating more. Higher salt didn't increase their thirst, but it did make them hungrier. Also the human "cosmonauts" receiving a salty diet complained about being hungry."

bbell1985

Salt bloats me but mostly when it's combined with higher carbs. I just love it so much. I don't care. I'm healthy.

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JeromeBarry1

You only need to experience a little bit of hyponatremia to curse the AHA. Screw the AHA, I'm eating all the salt I can find. If you are salt-sensitive such that it physically hurts to have high salt intake, avoid it. If you have hypertension such that it threatens your life to have high salt intake, avoid it. I don't have salt-sensitivity. I don't have hypertension. And I don't restrict my salt intake now.

nvmomketo

Dr Salim Yusuf has been behind much of the discussion about higher sodim levels. http://circres.ahajournals.org/content/116/6/1046.full

I used to be low sodium because dietary guidelines told me to. Now? I try to ignore those guidelines as much as possible. Not much right in there, including sodium recommendations. JMO I tend to get about 3000mg per day.

GottaBurnEmAll

Well, I have medication induced electrolyte imbalances, so I'm fairly liberal with my use of sodium and potassium.

AlabasterVerve

I salt my food to taste and, like @nvmomketo, do my best to ignore asinine dietary guidelines.

ETA: Here's an article from 1998 that's relevant:
The (Political) Science of Salt by Gary Taubes

N6314P

Oh the miracle of salt. With high blood pressure and arthritis which flares if I over indulge, I do try to limit. Salt is a spice that simply enhances a food's flavor without changing it. Please do use salt in the actual preparation of your food, it will be absorbed (like adding salt to boiling water when cooking pasta) into the food. Of course, you can still sprinkle on at the table. No need for 'fancy' salt either. Enjoy!

kshama2001

NorthCascades wrote: »

Apparently too much salt can make you have to pee too much.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/bladder-and-bowel/reducing-dietary-salt-may-mean-fewer-nighttime-bathroom-trips

I would guess that if this is true (eg there isn't a third variable influencing salt intake and need to pee), it's because a salty diet makes people thirsty and they drink more as a result.

My n=1 showed excess salt made me pee more with no change in fluid consumption.

GottaBurnEmAll

I will say, contrary to the agenda of some posters in this thread, there are some people for whom the sodium guidelines are not "asinine". My husband is one of them.

Like me with my genetic cholesterol issues, for whom those old fashioned low fat (and sat fat) guidelines hold true, he has genetic issues with blood pressure and is sensitive to sodium. He does need to stick to the guidelines on sodium consumption.

They may have painted with a broad brush with those types of guidelines, but they do hold true for some people, and are not entirely asinine.

Unknown

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