Eating Less Salt May Not Lower Risk of Heart Disease

ABC News ^ | Jul 6, 2011 | KIM CAROLLO

[KeyLargo]

Eating Less Salt May Not Lower Risk of Heart Disease

Contrary to what medical experts have been saying for years, a new study suggests salt may not be as bad for the heart as commonly believed.

Researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth in Exeter, U.K. reviewed data from seven studies with nearly 6,500 participants who reduced their salt intake and found that while eating less salt did lower blood pressure, it did not reduce the risk of dying or of having heart disease.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Risk of death???

I'm pretty sure we are still operating at 100%.

[brownsfan]

Medical science scares me. For every thing they do right, there’s one they mess up.

[Sacajaweau]

My gut tells me that the body knows what it needs....but not necessarily where they can get it.

Sometimes, but rarely, I seek out a bag of chips. Yes, always in summer. But I never finish the bag. It's like I need a salt "hit".

Same thing with chocolate.....and a sugar hit...

Same thing with meat....

Soemtimes, I think it's connected to the act of chewing...i.e., liquids vs solids.

[hecht]

Sleeper effect!

[Aria]

Animals will travel many miles to get salt. I think if chips weren’t salted no one would eat them. We need salt.

A good dieting strategy is when craving chips, etc just put a small amt of salt in your hand and lick it.

[Conservative4Ever]

I too will crave potato chips once in awhile. I always figured it was the salt. Not a whole bag, just a few to end the cravings. Works every time. I don't know about licking salt, doesn't seem the same somehow. :)

[Baynative]

Long ago, I decided that most food warnings are just the marketing scheme of the moment. The nutritionists or scientists proclaiming that eggs are bad, pork will kill you or coffee is toxic are usually being paid for their “study”, much like the global warming advocates.

[LibertarianLiz]

We need salt.

Yes we do, maybe because we are salt. Our tears are salty. Our bodies were set up to handle salt. I remember in the early 80's, this started. Salt was bad, it raised your blood pressure, it caused strokes, etc. etc. About 5-7 years ago, somebody finally finished a long term study and found that salt did none of those things. I swear it wasn't more than a year after that the "nannies" started the "salt is evil" mantra again. It is ridiculous. It never matters what the actual science says or the studies tell us; they want to control what we eat.

Perhaps it is another attempt at controlling how much we eat. Take away salt, take away flavor, so, maybe people will not eat as much.

I have stopped listening. I simply have stopped listening to these "boys crying wolf" constantly with no facts to back them up.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Moderation and balance still seem to win the day for me.

[Grams A]

For those that are up in arms over this revelation, hang around for a while because there will be an article in the future which says just the opposite. I think people should eat what they want when they want it - but perhaps everything in moderation. It distresses me though that food processors are forced to keep up with this nonsense.

[TomGuy]

I don't know about licking salt, doesn't seem the same somehow.

As kids, we used to chip off a piece from the salt-lick block for the cattle. It was as much of a treat for us as for them.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

This is a bad habit of medical researchers and doctors — insisting that a single variable is what matters in a complex system.

Sodium is in a delicate balance in the body with potassium, calcium and magnesium, as well as a host of lesser minerals as well as vitamins. If you change the balance of one, it affects the balance of the others. Too much of anything is not good, nor is too little of anything. Even minerals that are *deadly* in quantity are often *essential* in small amounts.

Importantly, such balances can be different, based on genetics and environment. For example, the continent of Africa is geologically very old, so most of its salts and metals have been leeched from its topsoil. Thus over many generations, Africans became more sensitive to having greater amounts of salts and metals in their diets.

Europe and North America, however, is geologically new, so has far more salts and metals in their topsoil. Thus over many generations, those of European ancestry developed far greater tolerances to salts and metals.

[corkoman]

fascinating - did not know that. Makes sense.

What does your FR name mean? I am fatigued with trying to figger that out.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Easy, it’s randomly generated (up to 64 chars).

http://www.pctools.com/guides/password/

Your personal security level jumps up by leaps and bounds if you use passwords over 16 chars. Keep a listing on a cheap thumb drive, and your security is tight, unless you lose the thumb drive.

Three more useful sites:

http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/

http://10minutemail.com/10MinuteMail/index.html

And, if you need a longer term email:

http://spamgourmet.com/

[VoiceOfBruck]

Here's an old blog entry of mine on the subject:

Pass the Salt, Please

I hate to be a blog pimp, but it is a bit lengthy to post in a comment.

[schwingdoc]

I dont trust any studies outside the US now.
Gov paying healthcare wins when people die prematurely and quickly. How can I believe any findings from these places?

[Conservative4Ever]

And pretty dang clever to use an old tree stump to keep it off the ground.