Posted on 03/15/2005 8:03:15 AM PST by Still Thinking
Not content knowing that some people continue to occasionally enjoy a meal, the self-described "food police" at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) launched their latest attack yesterday -- this time on salt. So CSPI has reaffirmed salt's place on its long list of nutritional no-nos, which includes milk, salad, and seafood. If you listen to CSPI -- why you would, we don't know -- that shaker on your dinner table might as well contain rat poison or cyanide. But considering the mixed scientific evidence, as well as CSPI's draconian solutions, you should take their latest attack with one gigantic grain of -- well, you know what.
According to CSPI, salt is a "silent killer" that takes the lives of 150,000 Americans a year. That number comes from a four-page commentary written by a member of CSPI's own advisory board -- hardly an unbiased source. And this commentary provides no explanation for how the death total is calculated.
Many rigorous scientific investigations have found little or no link between salt and mortality. A meta-study published in the prestigious British Medical Journal summarized the findings of a number of studies on the subject and found: "It is unclear what effects a low sodium diet has on cardiovascular events and mortality." Another study published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension concluded:
[F]ew data link sodium intake to health outcomes, and that which is available is inconsistent. Without knowledge of the sum of the multiple effects of reduced sodium diet, no single universal prescription for sodium intake can be scientifically justified.
Despite largely inconclusive evidence on salt's health impact, CSPI didn't pull any punches when it comes to trying to forcibly cut its unfavored ingredient out of our diets. CSPI's plan includes extra taxes on salty foods, warning labels on salt canisters, and government regulations on how much salt certain foods may contain. The group also wants another bureaucracy -- "a new FDA Division of Salt Reduction."
And CSPI's not done there. As with their campaign against Acrylamide in French fries and potato chips, they suggest that once companies reformulate their products to meet new government-imposed guidelines, "the limits could be reduced to the new median (or other lower) value." Like a game of limbo, CSPI's proposed regulatory salt standards only get lower once companies meet them. And that means our food would never be the same again.
Sorry, didn't intend to post and run, I have to leave for a bit. Be back later to chat.
Food Nazis
Following the pattern that was established regarding smoking. Nothing to see here, move along now!
...they're just bunch of Marxist Wackos/ELF Eco-terrorist/Food Nazis
CSPI is partially responsible for the pattern regarding smoking.
This outfit is in cahoots with PETA, RWJF and MADD to destroy the food and hospitality industries as we now know them.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Anti-smoker, anti-food, anti-alcohol, anti-gun leftist whackos who gift biased pseudo scientists with large grants to provide research results they wish to see.
that too..........
The most objectionable thing about CSPI is that I am occasionally reminded that they exist.
"Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt...."
I'm in my 50s, have used salt liberally all my life, and my blood pressure is 110/60 - for the average person, salt is not the problem.
Don't forget the BIG MAC!
(you want fries with that? Nah, too salty.)
TS
Everone knows that salt is harmful to children and fatal to the already endangered yellow-slug. That's enough reason to ban it and to make criminals of those who just want a shake or two for their eggs, which are also bad for the heart. /s
BTTT
beer is also fatal to yellow-slugs.........should we ban that, too???????
My South Asian in-laws don't have refrigeration, and EVERYTHING they eat is preserved with salt.
Almost no hypertension in the whole culture.
Parasites, TB, and childhood diseases all over the place, but very little hypertension.
NPR acknowledgement:
"Brought to you by the Robert Wood Johnson foundation...
Promoting the development of Prosthetic sex organs made with all-natural materials."
ROFL!!!!!!!
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