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Interesting article about salt (sodium), salt excess and how to reduce salt intake
by Mike Falcon (The Salt Solution)
Excess salt intake --- overwhelmingly common in the USA --- may be far more deadly than we thought. From Alzheimer’s to asthma, kidney stones to stomach cancer, the effects of a high salt diet may contribute to a host of major diseases.
And not just for the elderly: the amount of sodium you take in as a young and middle-aged adult could impact high blood pressure --- known as hypertension --- and a number of other diseases throughout your life. It also appears to affect intelligence and memory. And the bad effects can begin very early: At least one major medical study revealed that babies provided a high salt diet had sustained high blood pressure throughout adolescence.
But there is an answer, says the physician and two bio-chemist-biophysics researchers who authored The Salt Solution, a new book that’s bound to shake up salt and sodium myths we’ve lived with for decades. It involves both taking in less salt and more potassium. The two should exist in balance, but rarely do.
Why we crave salt
Our salt cravings "are formerly very efficient survival mechanisms that were essential in helping us take in sufficient sodium necessary for a variety of functions when salt was scarce," notes Dr. Richard Moore, Ph.D., a physician, researcher, and co-author of the book. "But because salt is readily available now, these mechanisms are now maladaptive --- they are not suited to a healthy lifestyle and long life."
Americans routinely take in 4000 milligrams of sodium as table salt each day, about 8 times the minimum daily requirement. At the same time, we ingest just 2500 milligrams of potassium, 1000 milligrams less than the government suggests. The authors of The Salt Solution suggest both figures are far from optimal, and recommend a 4:1 potassium-to-salt ratio.
This chronic salt excess may have the effect of altering a critical action that takes place within every cell in the body. The balance between salt and potassium in cells is theoretically maintained by the sodium-potassium "pump," which attempts to keep a higher amount of needed potassium within cells and higher concentrations of sodium outside them, where the sodium can eventually be excreted. This salt-potassium balance creates an electrical charge and balance at the cellular wall, necessary for healthy cellular metabolism. When the balance is chronically taxed by long-term high-salt intake the cell chemistry and the ability of cells to regulate the sodium-potassium balance may be severely compromised. As a result, cellular activity and disease resistance may plummet.
Elevating critical potassium
Bringing the potassium levels up helps enormously, but there are a few problems associated with elevated potassium intake. Changing the potassium intake alone and quickly does not let the cellular pumping action adapt. It can result in irregular heartbeats and even heart attacks, as well as altering calcium absorption.
Additionally, while most minerals can be found in highly concentrated forms, the Food and Drug Administration limits the per-table strength of non-prescription supplements to 99 milligrams of elemental potassium. It would take about 35 tabs a day to reach the suggested amount (the Salt Solution authors suggest 4500 milligrams as a better figure, making supplemental potassium intake even more difficult). This can be corrosive to your stomach lining. And never start potassium pill supplements if you are on high-blood pressure medication, congestive heart failure, or have kidney problems without consulting with your doctor.
Whole foods are a great base. A medium banana or a large apple contain about 500 milligrams of potassium, so eating one of each is a good start, especially since the potassium from whole food sources tends to absorb more evenly, slowly, and completely. Other good potassium sources include other fruits, many vegetables, and meats.
But some people will remain hypertensive and at risk even when they do decrease salt and increase potassium. They’re called salt-resistant. One solution to this salt resistance is to take Omega-3 essential fatty oils, which usually come from fish.
You may have heard that low salt actually increases the risk of heart attacks. This was widely reported 2 years ago, but the study and this conclusion are seriously flawed. The study’s self-reported low-salt users also reported caloric intakes of under 1000 a day, making this long-term self-reporting question able, since these 1000-calorie folks weighed the same as the big caloric users. Additionally, when salt-to-calorie ratios were evaluated, it was the high-salt users who had more heart attacks
Reducing salt painlessly
How can you get rid of salt? Easy. Here’s a few starters:
•Watch for the big offenders.
75% of salt intake for most people comes from processed canned foods. In my kitchen cabinet is a major-brand can of canned green beans with 1700 milligrams of sodium. Next to it is a Ralph’s "no added salt" can of spinach with 35 milligrams of sodium. The worst offenders: movie popcorn, pickles, bacon and processed luncheon meats, French fries, salted nuts and potato chips. There are great variances in breakfast cereals and breads as well, so look at all labels closely.
•Order smart at restaurants.
Chicken stir fry with rice sounds healthy, but one serving has over 2300 milligrams of sodium. Restaurant soups are routine sodium disasters. Stick to salads and ask that no salt be added to your grilled meats.
•Try the great new salt substitutes.
A decade ago salt substitutes only looked like salt and tasted like hell. The new Solgar Heart Salt (in some places called Cardia Salt) has 54% less sodium and contains some potassium. Try other seasonings with disease-fighting phytonutrients such as dried onions, garlic, and peppers.
by Mike Falcon (The Salt Solution)
Excess salt intake --- overwhelmingly common in the USA --- may be far more deadly than we thought. From Alzheimer’s to asthma, kidney stones to stomach cancer, the effects of a high salt diet may contribute to a host of major diseases.
And not just for the elderly: the amount of sodium you take in as a young and middle-aged adult could impact high blood pressure --- known as hypertension --- and a number of other diseases throughout your life. It also appears to affect intelligence and memory. And the bad effects can begin very early: At least one major medical study revealed that babies provided a high salt diet had sustained high blood pressure throughout adolescence.
But there is an answer, says the physician and two bio-chemist-biophysics researchers who authored The Salt Solution, a new book that’s bound to shake up salt and sodium myths we’ve lived with for decades. It involves both taking in less salt and more potassium. The two should exist in balance, but rarely do.
Why we crave salt
Our salt cravings "are formerly very efficient survival mechanisms that were essential in helping us take in sufficient sodium necessary for a variety of functions when salt was scarce," notes Dr. Richard Moore, Ph.D., a physician, researcher, and co-author of the book. "But because salt is readily available now, these mechanisms are now maladaptive --- they are not suited to a healthy lifestyle and long life."
Americans routinely take in 4000 milligrams of sodium as table salt each day, about 8 times the minimum daily requirement. At the same time, we ingest just 2500 milligrams of potassium, 1000 milligrams less than the government suggests. The authors of The Salt Solution suggest both figures are far from optimal, and recommend a 4:1 potassium-to-salt ratio.
This chronic salt excess may have the effect of altering a critical action that takes place within every cell in the body. The balance between salt and potassium in cells is theoretically maintained by the sodium-potassium "pump," which attempts to keep a higher amount of needed potassium within cells and higher concentrations of sodium outside them, where the sodium can eventually be excreted. This salt-potassium balance creates an electrical charge and balance at the cellular wall, necessary for healthy cellular metabolism. When the balance is chronically taxed by long-term high-salt intake the cell chemistry and the ability of cells to regulate the sodium-potassium balance may be severely compromised. As a result, cellular activity and disease resistance may plummet.
Elevating critical potassium
Bringing the potassium levels up helps enormously, but there are a few problems associated with elevated potassium intake. Changing the potassium intake alone and quickly does not let the cellular pumping action adapt. It can result in irregular heartbeats and even heart attacks, as well as altering calcium absorption.
Additionally, while most minerals can be found in highly concentrated forms, the Food and Drug Administration limits the per-table strength of non-prescription supplements to 99 milligrams of elemental potassium. It would take about 35 tabs a day to reach the suggested amount (the Salt Solution authors suggest 4500 milligrams as a better figure, making supplemental potassium intake even more difficult). This can be corrosive to your stomach lining. And never start potassium pill supplements if you are on high-blood pressure medication, congestive heart failure, or have kidney problems without consulting with your doctor.
Whole foods are a great base. A medium banana or a large apple contain about 500 milligrams of potassium, so eating one of each is a good start, especially since the potassium from whole food sources tends to absorb more evenly, slowly, and completely. Other good potassium sources include other fruits, many vegetables, and meats.
But some people will remain hypertensive and at risk even when they do decrease salt and increase potassium. They’re called salt-resistant. One solution to this salt resistance is to take Omega-3 essential fatty oils, which usually come from fish.
You may have heard that low salt actually increases the risk of heart attacks. This was widely reported 2 years ago, but the study and this conclusion are seriously flawed. The study’s self-reported low-salt users also reported caloric intakes of under 1000 a day, making this long-term self-reporting question able, since these 1000-calorie folks weighed the same as the big caloric users. Additionally, when salt-to-calorie ratios were evaluated, it was the high-salt users who had more heart attacks
Reducing salt painlessly
How can you get rid of salt? Easy. Here’s a few starters:
•Watch for the big offenders.
75% of salt intake for most people comes from processed canned foods. In my kitchen cabinet is a major-brand can of canned green beans with 1700 milligrams of sodium. Next to it is a Ralph’s "no added salt" can of spinach with 35 milligrams of sodium. The worst offenders: movie popcorn, pickles, bacon and processed luncheon meats, French fries, salted nuts and potato chips. There are great variances in breakfast cereals and breads as well, so look at all labels closely.
•Order smart at restaurants.
Chicken stir fry with rice sounds healthy, but one serving has over 2300 milligrams of sodium. Restaurant soups are routine sodium disasters. Stick to salads and ask that no salt be added to your grilled meats.
•Try the great new salt substitutes.
A decade ago salt substitutes only looked like salt and tasted like hell. The new Solgar Heart Salt (in some places called Cardia Salt) has 54% less sodium and contains some potassium. Try other seasonings with disease-fighting phytonutrients such as dried onions, garlic, and peppers.
