Salt has been with us for thousands of years.
The Egyptians used it in religious rituals and trade.
The Greeks bought slaves with it.
The Romans paid their soldiers with it (hence the word “salary”).
European plutocracies ran on salt, Confederate troops suffered for want of it, and these days, it can be found in pantries everywhere.
Salt was once a precious resource and now it’s a humdrum condiment.
C’est la vie. ?
Salt–the most important mineral in human history–has become even less than a lowly condiment, actually.
It’s now one of the most demonized nutrients in our modern diets.
The US government has been warning us about the (supposed) dangers of salt for decades now, which include an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
Newer research casts doubt on these assumptions, though, suggesting that it may not be as harmful as we once believed.
Well, in this episode, we’re going to break it all down and learn…
-What sodium is.
-Why sodium is (apparently) bad for you.
-How much sodium you should eat.
-How much sodium is too much.
-How to control your sodium intake.
And more…
Let’s get started.
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TIME STAMPS
3:27 – What is sodium?
5:06 – Why are we told that sodium is bad?
9:32 – How much sodium should I have every day?
12:33 – Does sodium intake affect weight loss?
13:55 – How do you reduce your sodium intake?
What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below!
+ Scientific References
- Jürgens, G., & Graudal, N. (2002). Effects of low sodium diet versus high sodium diet on blood pressure, renin, aldosterone, catecholamines, cholesterols, and triglyceride. In The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Issue 1). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd004022
- Taylor, R. S., Ashton, K. E., Moxham, T., Hooper, L., & Ebrahim, S. (2011). Reduced dietary salt for the prevention of cardiovascular disease: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (cochrane review). In American Journal of Hypertension (Vol. 24, Issue 8, pp. 843–853). Am J Hypertens. https://doi.org/10.1038/ajh.2011.115
- Kalogeropoulos, A. P., Georgiopoulou, V. V., Murphy, R. A., Newman, A. B., Bauer, D. C., Harris, T. B., Yang, Z., Applegate, W. B., & Kritchevsky, S. B. (2015). Dietary sodium content, mortality, and risk for cardiovascular events in older adults: The health, aging, and body composition (Health ABC) study. JAMA Internal Medicine, 175(3), 410–419. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.6278
- Sanada, H., Jones, J. E., & Jose, P. A. (2011). Genetics of salt-sensitive hypertension. Current Hypertension Reports, 13(1), 55–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-010-0167-6
- Mayo Clinic Staff. (n.d.). Triglycerides: Why do they matter? - Mayo Clinic. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/triglycerides/art-20048186
- Garg, R., Williams, G. H., Hurwitz, S., Brown, N. J., Hopkins, P. N., & Adler, G. K. (2011). Low-salt diet increases insulin resistance in healthy subjects. Metabolism: Clinical and Experimental, 60(7), 965–968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2010.09.005
- Ekinci, E. I., Clarke, S., Thomas, M. C., Moran, J. L., Cheong, K., Macisaac, R. J., & Jerums, G. (2011). Dietary salt intake and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, 34(3), 703–709. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc10-1723
- Yang, Q., Liu, T., Kuklina, E. V., Flanders, W. D., Hong, Y., Gillespie, C., Chang, M. H., Gwinn, M., Dowling, N., Khoury, M. J., & Hu, F. B. (2011). Sodium and potassium intake and mortality among US adults: Prospective data from the third national health and nutrition examination survey. Archives of Internal Medicine, 171(13), 1183–1191. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2011.257
- Food and Nutrition Board, INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES, & THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS. (2005). Dietary reference intakes for water, potassium, sodium, chloride, and sulfate. In Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10925
- Hoy, M. K., & Goldman, J. D. (2012). Potassium Intake of the U.S. Population What We Eat in America (Issue 10). www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/fsrg
- Pedersen, J. I., James, P. T., Brouwer, I. A., Clarke, R., Elmadfa, I., Katan, M. B., Kris-Etherton, P. M., Kromhout, D., Margetts, B. M., Mensink, R. P., Norum, K. R., Rayner, M., & Uusitupa, M. (2011). The importance of reducing SFA to limit CHD. In British Journal of Nutrition (Vol. 106, Issue 7, pp. 961–963). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000711451100506X
- Anastasiou, C. A., Kavouras, S. A., Arnaoutis, G., Gioxari, A., Kollia, M., Botoula, E., & Sidossis, L. S. (2009). Sodium replacement and plasma sodium drop during exercise in the heat when fluid intake matches fluid loss. Journal of Athletic Training, 44(2), 117–123. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-44.2.117
- Heer, M., Frings-Meuthen, P., Titze, J., Boschmann, M., Frisch, S., Baecker, N., & Beck, L. (2009). Increasing sodium intake from a previous low or high intake affects water, electrolyte and acid-base balance differently. British Journal of Nutrition, 101(9), 1286–1294. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114508088041
- Singer, D. R. J., Markandu, N. D., Buckley, M. G., Miller, M. A., Sagnella, G. A., Lachno, D. R., Cappuccio, F. P., Murday, A., Yacoub, M. H., & MacGregor, G. A. (1994). Blood pressure and endocrine responses to changes in dietary sodium intake in cardiac transplant recipients: Implications for the control of sodium balance. Circulation, 89(3), 1153–1159. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.89.3.1153
- Gallen, I. W., Rosa, R. M., Esparaz, D. Y., Young, J. B., Robertson, G. L., Batlle, D., Epstein, F. H., & Landsberg, L. (1998). On the mechanism of the effects of potassium restriction on blood pressure and renal sodium retention. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 31(1), 19–27. https://doi.org/10.1053/ajkd.1998.v31.pm9428447