Doctor Doctor, What is the Deal with Salt?
Why is it that when a study comes out proclaiming salt is evil for our bodies, another one is released claiming the contrary. What and who precisely should we listen to? For numerous years, our mothers and fathers, doctors, nutritionists have advised us to moderate our salt consumption or absolutely eliminate it from our dishes. But really, can food survive devoid of salt? Everybody knows food tastes better with salt. Visualize a juicy tomato without salt – not just the same eh?
We’ve heard so many people who’ve reduced their salt intake to zero. In the past when I lessened my salt intake, I’d have a meal at a friend’s house who still used salt, and came to the realization I didn’t miss salt at all. But it also came with the awareness that salt used in foods seemed to kick food into higher, more alive mode. Instead of salt, I had become proficient in using various herbs to put flavor in my food.
A bit of background on salt: salt helped our ancestors to preserve food, thus eradicating the necessity to journey over long distances simply to get food. Basically, it stopped them from being nomads, and led to the development of civilization. But wait, exactly why is it getting vilified now?
Recently new research was published in the American Journal of Hypertension including 6,250 folks. The study’s summary uncovered there was no strong data that decreasing salt intake reduces the risk for heart attacks, strokes or death in individuals with regular or high blood pressure levels.
Intersalt was a significant study released in 1988 that evaluated sodium intake with blood pressure level in people from 52 international research centers. The research found there was no connection between sodium intake and high blood pressure. The truth is, the people who ate the most salt, about 14 grams a day, had a lower blood pressure level than the people who ate the least amount of salt, about 7.2 grams each day.
Cochran Collaboration, an international, independent, nonprofit health care research organization posted a review of 11 salt reduction trials in 2004. This review was backed in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The review found that over the long term low salt diets, compared to normal diets, lowered systolic blood pressure (the top number in the blood pressure reading) in healthy people by 1.1 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by 0.6 mmHg. That’s like a comparison of 120/80 to 119/79. Doesn’t appear to be much does it?
So with all the information swirling inside your head, who do you believe? Can’t say for certain eh? Doctor, who do we believe? Let’s remember studies can be jeopardized determined by just what the company that is paying it wants the study to go.
Now, words of advice, while not authoritative; make an effort to go for natural salt as opposed to the usual table salt or processed salt. It is considered by many people that table salt can cause conditions for example different forms of arthritis, the dreaded cellulite, kidney stones, gall bladder stones, and of course, high blood pressure. So to be safe, just use natural salts and moderate your use.
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