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I thought it was established that the studies blaming sodium for cardiovascular issues were flawed and there was no clear connection, but this paper cites https

by rendaw 2y ago

I thought it was established that the studies blaming sodium for cardiovascular issues were flawed and there was no clear connection, but this paper cites https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735109719386929 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S073510971... which reaffirms that sodium is bad. Has there been any recent discourse on this conflict? Edit: Just recently, two articles here saying sodium isn't really bad - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41362798 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41362798 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38400460 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38400460 Edit 2: The paper I linked also claims humans got ~0.5g of salt for most of history (implying humans need very little salt). I'm skeptical of that too - early human civilization was near the ocean, and plenty of animals need much more salt. For instance, non-active horses need 25g of salt daily, which is bodyweight-equivalent to about 5g in humans, not 0.5g. Sheep are 9-11g salt (similar body weight to humans).

adrian_b 2y ago
I have seen a few months ago some study, but I do not remember a link, whose results were that for elevated blood pressure an excess intake of sodium was much less important than an insufficient intake of potassium, correlated to the sodium intake. EDIT: I see that one of your links has the same topic with the more recent study that I had seen, i.e. the at least equal importance of the potassium intake.
- rendaw 2y ago
  Yeah, none of them even mention potassium in passing, which seemed odd for me for a paper more or less directly asserting that potassium isn't a (more) significant factor.
AStonesThrow 2y ago
First of all, sodium chloride is now deprived of all its trace minerals and nutrients. "Table salt" is pure, translucent and uniformly white, which indicates it has been refined, all the nutrients and minerals removed: they are sold to supplement companies at a premium, because of how valuable they are! We end up with comparatively worthless Table Salt. (Luke 14:34-35) Therefore, it is rightly vilified, because adding it back during cooking or serving is now pointless. Also, high sodium levels correlate quite well with ultra-processed food and shelf-stable food. Since it's a preservative, sodium chloride (along with sodium benzoate, MSG, et. al.) is disproportionately added to frozen foods, prepared meals, and in food service, at takeout and restaurants. Therefore, it's not sodium itself which is the villain here, but sodium content is a proxy and accurate predicter of really awful nutrition, so indeed, it's a good idea to avoid it in the first place.

by rendaw 2y ago

adrian_b 2y ago

I have seen a few months ago some study, but I do not remember a link, whose results were that for elevated blood pressure an excess intake of sodium was much less important than an insufficient intake of potassium, correlated to the sodium intake. EDIT: I see that one of your links has the same topic with the more recent study that I had seen, i.e. the at least equal importance of the potassium intake.

rendaw 2y ago
Yeah, none of them even mention potassium in passing, which seemed odd for me for a paper more or less directly asserting that potassium isn't a (more) significant factor.

AStonesThrow 2y ago

First of all, sodium chloride is now deprived of all its trace minerals and nutrients. "Table salt" is pure, translucent and uniformly white, which indicates it has been refined, all the nutrients and minerals removed: they are sold to supplement companies at a premium, because of how valuable they are! We end up with comparatively worthless Table Salt. (Luke 14:34-35) Therefore, it is rightly vilified, because adding it back during cooking or serving is now pointless. Also, high sodium levels correlate quite well with ultra-processed food and shelf-stable food. Since it's a preservative, sodium chloride (along with sodium benzoate, MSG, et. al.) is disproportionately added to frozen foods, prepared meals, and in food service, at takeout and restaurants. Therefore, it's not sodium itself which is the villain here, but sodium content is a proxy and accurate predicter of really awful nutrition, so indeed, it's a good idea to avoid it in the first place.