If you have high blood pressure, you have probably been told to cut down on your salt intake. Many, but not all, who have high blood pressure, have salt-sensitive hypertension.
With the increased consumption of processed foods and eating out, the amount of salt in the diet has increased dramatically. Take a look at some labels of, for instance, low cal frozen entrees. I was surprised how much salt (sodium) some of them contain.
We need some salt (sodium) for our bodies to work properly. For instance, sodium is essential for functioning of muscles and nerves. For most of history salt has been considered a precious commodity. The word salary probably comes from the Roman word salarium which means salt money. The Romans are thought to have taken territory, sited ports and built roads to control the collection and transportation of salt.
A new study looked at the effects on health and death of reducing consumption of salt. The study suggests that, “Reducing dietary salt by 3 g per day is projected to reduce the annual number of new cases of CHD by 60,000 to 120,000, stroke by 32,000 to 66,000, and myocardial infarction by 54,000 to 99,000 and to reduce the annual number of deaths from any cause by 44,000 to 92,000.” (CHD is coronary heart disease – narrowing of the arteries; myocardial infarction or MI – heart attack).
They also say, “The cardiovascular benefits of reduced salt intake are on par with the benefits of population-wide reductions in tobacco use, obesity, and cholesterol levels. A regulatory intervention designed to achieve a reduction in salt intake of 3 g per day would save 194,000 to 392,000 quality-adjusted life-years and $10 billion to $24 billion in health care costs annually.”
That is a lot more years of quality living and a huge amount of money.
How much is 3g (3,000mg) of salt? It is a smidgen more than ½ tsp. The recommended average intake is 3.8g (3,800mg) salt or 1.5g (1,500mg) sodium per day. (Salt is sodium chloride, so you can measure the amount of salt and include the weight of the chloride, or just measure the sodium.) The amount of salt that we eat is typically several times more than this. Additionally, research has suggested that those on low salt diets, eating less than 3.8g salt suffer no ill effects. There are some health professionals who think the recommended level should be lowered.
Remember sodium is sodium is sodium. It does not matter whether refined table salt, sea salt, smoked salt or any other kind of salt are used. It is still sodium. Don’t be fooled by fancy “healthy” salts; they may contain other minerals, but they are still mainly salt.
