Why Some Think Lowering Salt Intake May Do More Harm Than Good

Good Morning America, ABC News ^ | Apr 7, 2015, 1:14 PM ET | Liz Neporent

[CARTOUCHE]

Salt Tablets. Oh yeah. I used to have salt rings on my fatigues under the arms and half-way to my waist. We’re talking Oklahoma here, not SE Asia.

[DJ Frisat]

"More and better investigations should be done to determine if someone with high blood pressure would be helped or harmed by the current recommendation, he added.

Pass the sea salt please."

Hear, hear!

I had borderline high BP for many years, but was not medicated. I had elevated cholesterol for years, and was on a statin for awhile. There was another thing common to those times: I was obese.

After 3 years on Weight Watchers, I have lost 120lbs. My BP and cholesterol numbers are great, without medication.

I eat well and make healthy choices. But I'm not a fanatic about cutting out every iota of fat, carbohydrates and sodium from my diet. We occasionally indulge in ribs, broasted chicken or a small steak. We don't live on twigs and small stones. We eat good food, in smaller quantities, and we enjoy occasional treats like cookies, chocolate and birthday cake.

We mostly avoid a lot of processed foods, which are often high in sodium. But it's because we prefer freshly-prepared meals where we control the ingredients, not because of the sodium content in the packaged foods. I've always enjoyed salty snacks, but they're not on our everyday consumption list.

I've cut back on sodium, but not to the point of affecting how my food tastes. Some things, I want salt on! Like tomatoes, watermelon and grapefruit, in addition to using it as a seasoning in cooking. I may have a small order of McDonald's fries 2 or 3 times a year. If they're not well-salted, I put more on!

At home, we usually use grind-it-yourself sea salt, but try to include the iodized version to meet the body's requirements.

[Wilum]

Yeah I remember the “salt rings”. I used them the whole time I was in, from Lackland to Spain with TDYs to Wheelus, Lybia and Incerlik, Turkey. Only exception was Lowery, used 3.2 beer instead :)

[zzwhale]

iodized salt was done for health reasons...by “scientists” for health reasons.... half the new “science” like “man caused climate change” is political horse pucky.....

but the law of nature that the azzhole is in charge (brain vs. azzhole...ahole shuts down brain overheats, ah wins) prevails... moochele and her school lunch program for example.. obama and obamacare ...and on and on..

[citizen]

....tell me to ignore the soup labels and just don't shake the shaker.

I use the "no salt" kind of salt. It tastes like salt....costs 10 times as much but it's still only 3 or 4 dollars/year.