6 ms·

They were primarily animal sources of salt. Once agriculture developed, it became necessary to supplement that missing salt. From what I can find, that number i

They were primarily animal sources of salt. Once agriculture developed, it became necessary to supplement that missing salt. From what I can find, that number is about 1/2 to 1/3 of what modern people eat. That's not to say that's a good thing, sodium intake is a U-shaped curve. Too little is as bad as too much. Here [1, check figure 1] is a study comparing heart disease, stroke, etc. vs sodium excretion (as a proxy for sodium intake). The standard dietary recommendation is 2300mg, which is well below the minimum point in the graph. And the 'high sodium diet' (3400mg) of average person is also below it, most people should probably be eating more salt, especially if they are sweating more from exercise or live in a hot climate. [1]: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1105553 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1105553

YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago
The study you link to makes no attempt to control for recent reduction of salt intake because of an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. To put it plainly, people who consume abnormally low amounts of salt don't do it out of choice - nobody enjoys eating their food without salt. They do it because the doctor tells them that it's either that, or a heart attack. It makes sense of course that cardiovascular events will be more prevalent in this group than any other group. Studies like the one you link to control for pre-existing cardiovascular disease, but having CV disease doesn't mean you cut down on salt. The same methodological flaw has previously caused studies to report that very low alcohol consumption is better than moderate alcohol consumption for the heart, for example. I have a link somewhere if you want. Btw, the study you linked to used the data from two studies comparing two anti-hypertensive drugs to each other or to placebo, so we know that basically everyone in the study already had some kind of underlying disease. Additionally, the study data included a one-time measurement, which significantly reduces its statistical power, despite its large population (you gotta take multiple measurements to minimise sampling error).
mytailorisrich 5y ago
> And the 'high sodium diet' (3400mg) of average person is also below it, most people should probably be eating more salt, That's a very dangerous advice to give loosely based on one paper and against the advice of about all health organisations worldwide...
- nradov 5y ago
  If you dig deeper into the research behind most of the nutritional advice promulgated by health organizations you'll find that it doesn't actually meet modern evidence-based medicine criteria. And there's no reliable proof that publishing such advice has ever produced better public health outcomes.
  - edmundsauto 5y ago
    But unlike with “don’t eat fat, eat sugar!” campaigns of the 80s, I can’t figure out who is profiting from increased salt usage. Is it other food producers whose product is improved with salt? Is Big Salt a thing?
    - mytailorisrich 5y ago
      Yes, in general salt improves products in the sense that we do tend to be attracted to it and we like it so it makes food more attractive and thus increases sales. It's the usual suspects really. Food/beverages are made to be sold at a profit so choice and proportion of ingredients usually comes down to either cost reduction or increased sales.
    - nradov 5y ago
      My comment was general, not specifically about salt. The nutritional guidelines are mostly well intentioned rather than shilling for food producers, however the underlying science is shaky. So the recommendations continue more out of historical inertia and the bureaucratic imperative than anything else.

YeGoblynQueenne 5y ago

The study you link to makes no attempt to control for recent reduction of salt intake because of an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. To put it plainly, people who consume abnormally low amounts of salt don't do it out of choice - nobody enjoys eating their food without salt. They do it because the doctor tells them that it's either that, or a heart attack. It makes sense of course that cardiovascular events will be more prevalent in this group than any other group. Studies like the one you link to control for pre-existing cardiovascular disease, but having CV disease doesn't mean you cut down on salt. The same methodological flaw has previously caused studies to report that very low alcohol consumption is better than moderate alcohol consumption for the heart, for example. I have a link somewhere if you want. Btw, the study you linked to used the data from two studies comparing two anti-hypertensive drugs to each other or to placebo, so we know that basically everyone in the study already had some kind of underlying disease. Additionally, the study data included a one-time measurement, which significantly reduces its statistical power, despite its large population (you gotta take multiple measurements to minimise sampling error).

mytailorisrich 5y ago

> And the 'high sodium diet' (3400mg) of average person is also below it, most people should probably be eating more salt, That's a very dangerous advice to give loosely based on one paper and against the advice of about all health organisations worldwide...

nradov 5y ago
If you dig deeper into the research behind most of the nutritional advice promulgated by health organizations you'll find that it doesn't actually meet modern evidence-based medicine criteria. And there's no reliable proof that publishing such advice has ever produced better public health outcomes.
- edmundsauto 5y ago
  But unlike with “don’t eat fat, eat sugar!” campaigns of the 80s, I can’t figure out who is profiting from increased salt usage. Is it other food producers whose product is improved with salt? Is Big Salt a thing?
  - mytailorisrich 5y ago
    Yes, in general salt improves products in the sense that we do tend to be attracted to it and we like it so it makes food more attractive and thus increases sales. It's the usual suspects really. Food/beverages are made to be sold at a profit so choice and proportion of ingredients usually comes down to either cost reduction or increased sales.
  - nradov 5y ago
    My comment was general, not specifically about salt. The nutritional guidelines are mostly well intentioned rather than shilling for food producers, however the underlying science is shaky. So the recommendations continue more out of historical inertia and the bureaucratic imperative than anything else.