Low-Salt Diets Shown to Pose Health Risks

Wall Street Journal ^ | Aug 13, 2014 | Ron Winslow

[expat2]

Yep. Smaller portions is the key.

[Cold Heart]

Early on we had the salt tablet dispensers on board. We didn’t have cigarettes in lifeboat supplies, definetly before my time. Ships have switched to Gatorade. We had cases of powdered Gatorade.

Had one sailor come to me complaining of vomiting every time he tried to drink water. A drink of salted water stopped that.

[Veto!]

I actually manage my blood pressure by adhering to a no-added-salt diet. No fast food, no packaged food, maybe one can of something per week, I basically cook from scratch. Outrageously healthy. No meds. Doc is happy with me.

But, thanks, you bring up a very interesting point. I used to enjoy summer and thrive in hot weather, but this year it’s wiping me out. Could be I actually DO need to use salt when it’s hot out. Will try it for a few days.

[Minsc]

I’ve been blessed with genetics so that I don’t have to watch my salt intake, it has zero effect on me.

[capt. norm]

I have a vascular syncope--lack of adequate blood pressure on standing up--that requires me to consume extra salt. My condition is largely caused by my body losing too much salt too fast. The balance is kept by taking fludrocortisone (Florinef) and using as much salt as I like.

My doctor told me the (normal) body can very easily get rid of excess salt...it's no biggie.

If I don't get my salt, I can't stand up without blacking out. It was damn scary before it was correctly diagnosed.

[867V309]

Salt is bad for you
Saccharin will kill you
Tylenol is safe to use
Butter is bad for you but trans-fat margarine is OK
Caffeine is bad for you

We are subjected to a constant flow of utter nonsense. My message to the "researchers": Stick It.

[Pining_4_TX]

And that was the wrong medical advice, the “experts” have since discovered.

For the vast majority of people, eating the amount of salt they want is no problem. Our bodies are marvelously equipped to keep a balance. True, there is a small subset of people who are senstive to salt, but that is not most of us.

The health nannies need to stop making broad recommendations on what they think ought to be. They all fear that somewhere someone is eating what he wants, and that doesn’t fit in with their religion of food abstinence.

[hecticskeptic]

Call me when someone says “Tobacco isn’t so bad.” Then I’ll know that science is back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2fYguIX17Q .......It's at about the 3:30 minute mark.

[KarlInOhio]

I cut back on my salt intake a few years ago and I noticed I became a lot more sensitive to its taste. Some foods that used to taste good now taste bitter from too much salt, and I don't think it is just from increased salt in the recipes.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Importantly, the body needs its electrolytes balanced. In physiology, the primary ions of electrolytes are sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), chloride (Cl−), hydrogen phosphate (HPO4 2−), and hydrogen carbonate (HCO3−). Sodium is the main electrolyte found in extracellular fluid and is involved in fluid balance and blood pressure control. Fortunately, the body is very expert at fine tuning these salt levels, except in extremes of acute or chronic surplus or deficiency.

[Intolerant in NJ]

... those who consumed fewer than 3,000 milligrams of sodium a day had a 27% higher risk of death or a serious event such as a heart attack or stroke in that period...on the other hand, it might be that people with serious health problems like high blood pressure were put on low salt diets and also had more likelihood of dying from heart attacks and strokes - always difficult to track cause and effect in evaluating health factors.....

[ChildOfThe60s]

Because toxemia causes spikes in blood pressure, putting her at risk of a stroke, they were trying to lower that risk.

I don’t know what it’s like now, but they really didn’t understand too much about toxemia then. So, I believe it was a matter of their attempting eliminate as much potential risk as possible. She spent some time in an isolated hospital room, no TV, one short visit a day from me, all to lower any sort of potential stress. When your pregnant 30 yo wife could have a stroke, you go to extremes, err on the side of safety.

I recall reading sometime later that there came to be disagreement as to whether the ultra low sodium was effective in that particular circumstance.

So, our situation was different than the run of the mill BP issue.

My attitude re salt is, if my fingers are puffy and stiff in the morning, I usually ate too much salt the day/night before.

[caveat emptor]

Did you know there is a disease called “hyponatremia”, where people have too little salt in their blood, it can actually kill people

From Wiki:hyponatraemia (British English) is a reduction in the salt level in the blood. In the vast majority of cases, it is caused by drinking too much water, resulting in an electrolyte disturbance in which the sodium ion concentration in the blood plasma is lower than normal.......Many conditions including congestive heart failure, liver failure, kidney failure and pneumonia can have an associated hyponatremia.

[Innovative]

Call me when someone says “Tobacco isn’t so bad.”

I think medical research showed that it prevents Alzheimer’s disease — but they think its negative impacts outweigh the positive ones.

[goodnesswins]

I think something should be said about the TYPE of salt...Himalayan and other sea salts are likely good...just need to make sure you get appropriate iodine

[Boundless]

> In my 62 years I’ve seen ...

> “Salt will kill you” ,

False, for reasonable dosages. The supposed science was based on a high glycemic diet. On low carb, you may need more. Furthermore, by telling people to avoid salt, people reduced their intake of iodine (which is added to table salt), and this is causing widespread mistested, misdiagnosed, mis-treated hypothyroid problems.

> “Coffee will kill you”,

Coffee per se is net beneficial for most people. Others need to avoid it.

> “Meat will kill you”,

Pasture-raised and finished will not kill you. The supposed science to the contrary is usually cherry-picked data spun by researchers with a vegetarian bias. That said, hormone-laced, antibiotic-laced RoundUp-laced feedlot meat is another story entirely (and one having nothing to do with the meat per se).

> “Soy will kill you”,

Slowly, and by several methods. Fermented soy may be OK.

> “Sugar will kill you”,

Absolutely: added refined sugar, esp, refined (synthetic) fructose is the #2 problem in health today (#1 is wheat).

> Call me when someone says “Tobacco isn’t so bad.”

Guess what the ebola serum is made from.

> Then I’ll know that science is back.
> Until then, it’s politics.

Food and health guidelines have been business (big pharma) and politics for about 100 years now. The fatal advocacies of the USDA are a direct result of McGovern’s lust for a legacy. All the American Affliction Associations advocate diets that keep you in need of the meds sold by the members of their Boards.

We are our own in deciding what to eat. I suspect the readers of this forum can handle that responsibility.