The pseudoscience behind a low salt diet and why reducing sodium intake increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and a cardiovascular event.
“Mankind can live without gold … but not without Salt.” – Cassiodorus, Roman statesman, circa 500 AD
The FDA continues to recommend low salt diets, gradually moving toward the goal of 23o0 mg per day. This is despite strong evidence that a low sodium diet is not health-promoting and actually risks higher rates of disease and death.
Perhaps the FDA is attempting to usher in a modern manifestation of the ancient salt routes.
In the Dark and Medieval Ages, only the rich had enough salt. The peasants were unable to procure enough, and their health suffered greatly as a result.
Of course, the push to control the sodium content of food is cloaked in the argument that low salt diets are beneficial to health.
This is simply not so!
Low salt diets are flat-out harmful and there is plenty of research to back this up.
In fact, it is smart to use homemade sole water as an ionic supplement to ensure you are getting enough!
Research on Low Salt Diet Dangers
A compelling and large study that dismantles the sacred cow that salt is bad for you appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (1)
3,681 healthy European men and women aged 60 or younger were followed for about 8 years.
Those that consumed higher than average amounts of sodium did not experience an increased risk for hypertension, stroke, or heart attack.
Dr. Jan Staessen MD, senior author of the study at the University of Leuven in Belgium stated that the study’s findings:
… do not support the current recommendations of a generalized and indiscriminate reduction of sodium intake at the population level.
Low Sodium Increases Disease and Death
It appears that it is much better to have a higher than average sodium intake than a lower one.
As published by the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association, even small decreases in sodium content in the diet increase the risk for a cardiovascular event and death.
The sodium levels adhered to in the JAMA study were based on USDA dietary guidelines.
Hence, people who follow low salt recommendations are at increased risk for a significant and possibly deadly health event!
The authors of the study wrote:
Taken together, our current findings refute the estimates of computer models of lives saved and healthcare costs reduced with lower salt intake. They also do not support the current recommendations of a generalized and indiscriminate reduction in salt intake at the population level. (2)
Dangers for Diabetics
Another study from Harvard University showed that participants developed insulin resistance in only 7 days when on a salt-restricted diet. (3)
Insulin resistance is an alarming condition that indicates a strong likelihood that Type 2 Diabetes will develop.
Similarly, Australian studies have shown that those individuals with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes die in larger numbers when following a salt-restricted diet.
From a common-sense point of view, a review of these studies indicates that low salt intake is a particularly risky path for those with blood sugar control issues.
Given that 80% or so of adults over the age of 25 are already overweight or obese in the United States, FDA restrictions on salt content in food could put the majority of the population at considerable risk for early death.
Salt Replacement Risks
The very clear danger of any FDA-mandated reduction in the salt content of foods is that manufacturers will increase the amount of MSG to compensate for the loss of flavor.
This has been Big Food’s typical response to government calls for reduced sodium since the 1970s.
It appears, however, that food manufacturers have another favorite food additive that they use to stealthily replace sodium.
Senomyx Dirty Little Secret
The salt substitute of choice for Big Food is called Senomyx. It is so potent and requires such tiny amounts that it doesn’t even need FDA approval.
According to the Weston A. Price Foundation:
The Senomyx salt substitute is clearly a chemical product that works in the body as a neurological agent, causing an individual to perceive a salty taste. It would seem to be nothing more or less than a neurotrophic drug.
Because the maker of the Senomyx product calls it a food, their salt substitute does not require the extensive testing that would be required by the FDA if it were called a pharmaceutical.
To our knowledge, there has been no testing of the Senomyx salt substitute for safety, and it is so potent that the amount needed in food is below the amount requiring FDA approval. (4)
Most consumers are unaware that Senomyx widely uses aborted fetal cells in their flavor manufacturing. (5)
Besides this undisclosed ethical issue, the use of Senomyx, which tastes salty but does not satisfy the body’s biological need for salt, threatens consumers with even more weight issues!
This is because appetite does not sufficiently abate until enough salt is consumed.
Hungry all the time? Perhaps you are not getting enough salt!
In short, people continue to eat and eat until their bodies get sufficient salt regardless of what level the FDA might ordain. (6)
Which Salt is Best?
Obviously, people would do well to avoid refined or iodized salt for the same reasons as any other processed food.
Unrefined sea salt containing dozens of important trace minerals is the best type to source as part of a healthy diet.
Due to microplastic pollution found in sea salt in recent years, it is a good idea to make sure yours is tested for purity.
My preferred sea salt brand is this brand from the Sea of Cortez which is tested to be free of contaminants and microplastics. Use coupon HealthyHome10 for 10% off if you’d like to try it!
Sea of Cortez sea salt (“Baja Gold”) also contains the highest amount of trace minerals of any sea salt in the world (no other sea salt is even close).
If you’ve been afraid of too much salt in the past, it’s time to stop worrying. Your body NEEDS salt!
Objective studies show that low salt diets do more harm than good. The view that “salt is bad” is substantiated only by junk science.
(1-2) Fatal and nonfatal outcomes, incidence of hypertension, and blood pressure changes in relation to urinary sodium excretion
(3) Low-salt diet increases insulin resistance in healthy subjects
(4) The Salt of The Earth
(5) Hidden Food Ingredients
(6) Caustic Commentary Summer 2022
Wow Sarah, you’re at it again! This piece and the link to Sally Fallon’s article have finally helped me convince my husband that he needs to eat more salt, not less. We eat no processed food, yet once in a while he sneaks potato chips – simply because he craves the salt. He’s agreed to try salting his food for a few weeks and see if that helps. He’s underweight – despite having a terrific appetite- I wonder if this will have any effect? Thankyou!!
One of my children LOVES salt. I just give her the salt shaker and let her have at it. She won’t eat eggs unless they are heavily salted. We use good quality sea salt, of course, and I don’t worry how much she uses. She is just like her Grandma, I might add so it’s just a genetically strong taste for salt. Do I worry about it? No, I just let her salt to taste which is what everyone should do and forget what the know nothing government bureaucrats have to say about it.
I highly recommend getting a recording of the talk Morton Satin gave at the Nov 2011 Weston Price conference. I couldn’t resist getting out my notes. Among the many fascinating facts he shared are:
– low sodium outcomes include insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, cognition loss, unsteadiness, falls, fractures
– in homes for the elderly, low salt diets are automatically implemented and the rates of falls and broken hips are 3 times greater than elsewhere, plus it contributes to loss of appetite and loss of interest in life
– it’s a common misconception that we consume more salt now due to processed foods; salt was used to preserve all kinds of foods prior to modern refrigeration and food processing. After WWII consumption went from 18-20 grams to 9 grams per day
– the data shows the more salt you eat, the longer you live
– there’s a myth that the so-called heart healthy Mediterranean diet is low in sodium where in fact it has 40% more salt than US (it’s in cheese, preserved meats, traditional foods)
– the same person who developed the govt DRI dietary guidelines for salt consumption is the same person asked to evaluate the guidelines. This equals corruption, and it’s a case of ideology, not science.
So, you like your cheese the way it’s supposed to be, with salt? The effects of these new rules will be far reaching. Do make your voice heard. There’s just one week left now for public comments so click the link above!
And here’s the correct link to the govt comment page:
http://www.regulations.gov/#%21submitComment;D=FDA-2011-N-0400-0038
Thanks Beth. I fixed the link. Don’t know what happened there. WordPress snafu.
Studies Suggest Low Salt Diets Are Deadly – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/OpsSREqm
This is horrifying. Senomyx is manufactured using human cells. The inclusion of human cells in some vaccines was the reason I first questioned them. And here again, a company is trying to whitewash it as “healhy” with a government backing. And it (Senomyx) can be in anything with “artificial flavorings.”
I am coming across soooo many people who think they are being healthy by not using salt. I am noticing this trend particularly prevalent around the elderly, whose doctors are telling them to eat a low-salt diet. It seems like the low salt diet is akin to the craze of low fat diets. I agree with Brenda that the issue of processed and unprocessed salt is confusing. Like Brenda, I thought processed salt was a no-no and unprocessed salt was the only way to go. I will certainly share this important information with family, friends and people following my blog. Thanks for this post!!
Studies Suggest Low Salt Diets Are Deadly http://t.co/eX4INMGC
Can you tell me what you do for iodine? On my Celtic sea salt it says it is not a significant source. Thank you!
My suggestion is to get kelp granules. They are very high in iodine and can be added to your foods just as easily as salt and pepper are.
This is interesting. I just got back from my Holistic Doctor and he said I was low in sodium. I don’t eat much processed food and use sea salt liberally. I do notice that there is a big difference in using real salt to store bought salt. I don’t swell up using sea salt but do when I eat anything that is processed with salt.
Great article again. Salt is a vital nutrient, and a lack of salt leads to illness and death. The salt needs of every individual varies, with the specific condition of their body, so it is insane and evil to try to enforce a one amount fits all salt restriction.
I respectfully disagree with the idea that processed salt, stripped of its minerals, with added sugar, artificial iodine, and chemicals added to keep the salt from clumping, is anywhere as good as real, unprocessed sea salt. Our bodies our programmed to ear real salt, and salt stripped of its minerals can actually cause a salt craving, as our bodies fail to find the minerals that should be there. For myself, I eat only unprocessed sea salt, and let my appetite be my guide in deciding how much to eat. The body knows much better than any bureaucrat or corporation corrupted scientist how much salt it needs. Sometimes I will have a lot, sometimes only a little. But I always have as much as I want.
And I do not want to be guinea pig for some Frankenstein chemical that is designed to trick my body.
No way should our government get involved in this, especially when it could hamper our access to traditionally fermented foods and cheese.
Low salt is bad for you! 7 days on a low salt diet CREATES insulin resistance in healthy people. http://t.co/pqvEkSVO (via @healthyhomeecon