What I have come to realise about nutrition is that the \u2018science\u2019 behind the some of the recommendations never quite measures up. New studies now indicate that the fear of salt has been highly exaggerated.<\/span><\/h6>\n <\/p>\n
The Story of Salt<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\nIs it sodium really that dangerous? In short, no. Certainly not as much as we have been led to believe. Table salt is made out of sodium and chloride. Approximately 40% of salt is sodium. Food labels usually only give the figure for sodium. To work out how much you are eating, Salt = sodium x 2.5.<\/span><\/p>\nThe NHS advises adults eat no more than 2.4g (grams) of sodium per day (equal to 6g of salt or\u00a01 \u00bc\u00a0teaspoons).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nSo, that\u2019s a maximum recommendation of 6g from the NHS (National Health Service), 5g from WHO (World Health Organisation) and 3g the AHA (American Heart Association)! Where do these numbers come from? The Salt Fix<\/a> is an insightful book by Dr. James DiNicolantonio, a leading cardiovascular research scientist. He discovered that the dietary guidelines – no more than 3g of salt a day (AHA) – appear to stem from a paper published in 1976 by George Meneely and Harold Battarbee.<\/span><\/p>\n These researchers concluded that sodium restriction was only important in those with a low potassium intake and only in those who were genetically susceptible to the blood pressure-raising effects of sodium. Certainly not everyone<\/em>. Somehow, this sweeping generalisation ended up in the dietary guidelines and the low sodium dogma carries on.<\/span><\/p>\nPrior to refrigeration, humans had used salt in huge amounts as a preservative for food. Our consumption of sodium has actually gone down significantly as cooling and freezing food took over.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nGary Taubes, a science writer, noted in his book The Diet Delusion<\/a><\/span>: \u201ccutting our average salt intake in half, for instance, which is difficult to accomplish in the real world \u2013 will drop blood pressure by perhaps 4 to 5 mm Hg in hypertensives and 2 mm Hg in the rest of us.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0In other words, a substantial reduction in sodium intake would have a negligible impact on blood pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
How Your Body Responds To Low Salt<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n- Low sodium levels stress the body. Stress hormones and the hormone aldosterone are pumped by your adrenal glands to try and retain more sodium.<\/span><\/li>\n
- The fat storing hormone insulin goes up and insulin tells the kidneys to retain more sodium.<\/span><\/li>\n
- Table salt is one of the best ways to get iodine, so you will be at risk of iodine deficiency, which can lead to hypothyroidism, wrecking your metabolism.<\/span><\/li>\n
- High insulin levels and low thyroid hormone levels lead to weight gain, regardless of calories consumed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This article<\/a><\/span> by Grant Schofield, a Professor of Public Health, explores the relationships between sodium, insulin and high blood pressure. His letter<\/span><\/a> to The Lancet, a prestigious medical journal, is also worth a read.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Insulin Resistance<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\nThere is mounting evidence that low sodium levels increase insulin resistance – the\u00a0hallmark of The Metabolic Syndrome<\/span><\/a>. This 2011 Harvard study<\/a><\/span> linked low-salt diets to the rapid development of insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.\u00a0 Here’s another thought. Could the obesity epidemic be partly due to salt reduction? Are we eating more (of the wrong things) to satiate the need for salt?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
More Bad News<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\nInternational experts have called the salt guidelines far too restrictive. This recent paper<\/a> <\/span>emphasised the potential dangers of lowering sodium too much, as in the WHO and NHS guidelines. All we have is an association between sodium and high blood pressure. We have no evidence of causation. But the mantra goes on – eat less salt – despite studies showing that too little sodium can actually be dangerous.<\/span><\/p>\nThis new study<\/span><\/a> published in the Lancet concluded that \u201cCompared with moderate sodium intake, high sodium intake is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and death in hypertensive populations (no association in normotensive [normal blood pressure] population), while the association of low sodium intake with increased risk of cardiovascular events and death is observed in those with or without hypertension.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nIn other words,<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Low sodium intake is bad whether or not you have high BP<\/span><\/li>\n
- High sodium intake is OK if you do not have high BP<\/span><\/li>\n
- High sodium intake is bad if you have high blood pressure<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Moderate salt intake is therefore generally associated with the lowest risk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\nWhile this study does not prove that sodium causes high blood pressure which leads to heart disease, we can safely assume that a moderate amount of salt is a sensible and achievable recommendation. This works out as 7.5 to 15g\u00a0 a day (1 teaspoon of salt is about 4g).<\/span><\/p>\nThere\u2019s more. People with heart failure are often told to avoid sodium. This new study<\/a> <\/span>sought to evaluate the impact of sodium restriction on heart failure outcomes. It found that people who restricted their sodium intake fared much worse, with a much higher chance of early death or hospitalisation. Although this study has its limitations, the findings should prompt future large good quality studies.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
I.V (intravenous) Sodium Chloride<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Is it sodium really that dangerous? In short, no. Certainly not as much as we have been led to believe. Table salt is made out of sodium and chloride. Approximately 40% of salt is sodium. Food labels usually only give the figure for sodium. To work out how much you are eating, Salt = sodium x 2.5.<\/span><\/p>\n The NHS advises adults eat no more than 2.4g (grams) of sodium per day (equal to 6g of salt or\u00a01 \u00bc\u00a0teaspoons).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n So, that\u2019s a maximum recommendation of 6g from the NHS (National Health Service), 5g from WHO (World Health Organisation) and 3g the AHA (American Heart Association)! Where do these numbers come from? The Salt Fix<\/a> is an insightful book by Dr. James DiNicolantonio, a leading cardiovascular research scientist. He discovered that the dietary guidelines – no more than 3g of salt a day (AHA) – appear to stem from a paper published in 1976 by George Meneely and Harold Battarbee.<\/span><\/p>\n These researchers concluded that sodium restriction was only important in those with a low potassium intake and only in those who were genetically susceptible to the blood pressure-raising effects of sodium. Certainly not everyone<\/em>. Somehow, this sweeping generalisation ended up in the dietary guidelines and the low sodium dogma carries on.<\/span><\/p>\n Prior to refrigeration, humans had used salt in huge amounts as a preservative for food. Our consumption of sodium has actually gone down significantly as cooling and freezing food took over.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Gary Taubes, a science writer, noted in his book The Diet Delusion<\/a><\/span>: \u201ccutting our average salt intake in half, for instance, which is difficult to accomplish in the real world \u2013 will drop blood pressure by perhaps 4 to 5 mm Hg in hypertensives and 2 mm Hg in the rest of us.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0In other words, a substantial reduction in sodium intake would have a negligible impact on blood pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This article<\/a><\/span> by Grant Schofield, a Professor of Public Health, explores the relationships between sodium, insulin and high blood pressure. His letter<\/span><\/a> to The Lancet, a prestigious medical journal, is also worth a read.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n There is mounting evidence that low sodium levels increase insulin resistance – the\u00a0hallmark of The Metabolic Syndrome<\/span><\/a>. This 2011 Harvard study<\/a><\/span> linked low-salt diets to the rapid development of insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.\u00a0 Here’s another thought. Could the obesity epidemic be partly due to salt reduction? Are we eating more (of the wrong things) to satiate the need for salt?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n International experts have called the salt guidelines far too restrictive. This recent paper<\/a> <\/span>emphasised the potential dangers of lowering sodium too much, as in the WHO and NHS guidelines. All we have is an association between sodium and high blood pressure. We have no evidence of causation. But the mantra goes on – eat less salt – despite studies showing that too little sodium can actually be dangerous.<\/span><\/p>\n This new study<\/span><\/a> published in the Lancet concluded that \u201cCompared with moderate sodium intake, high sodium intake is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and death in hypertensive populations (no association in normotensive [normal blood pressure] population), while the association of low sodium intake with increased risk of cardiovascular events and death is observed in those with or without hypertension.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n In other words,<\/span><\/p>\n Moderate salt intake is therefore generally associated with the lowest risk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n While this study does not prove that sodium causes high blood pressure which leads to heart disease, we can safely assume that a moderate amount of salt is a sensible and achievable recommendation. This works out as 7.5 to 15g\u00a0 a day (1 teaspoon of salt is about 4g).<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s more. People with heart failure are often told to avoid sodium. This new study<\/a> <\/span>sought to evaluate the impact of sodium restriction on heart failure outcomes. It found that people who restricted their sodium intake fared much worse, with a much higher chance of early death or hospitalisation. Although this study has its limitations, the findings should prompt future large good quality studies.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\nHow Your Body Responds To Low Salt<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
Insulin Resistance<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
More Bad News<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
I.V (intravenous) Sodium Chloride<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/insulean.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/SALINE-INSULEAN-185x300.jpg\")
![\"HIMALAYAN](\"http:\/\/insulean.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/HIMALAYAN-SALT-INSULEAN.png\")