A Pinch of Salt
Reducing dietary salt may have a logical theory, but “prudence requires that logic and good intentions also be supported by strong evidence that such an action would be safe,” argues Dr. Michael Alderman in an invited opinion column in the New York Times , February 6. He noted that the New York City Department of Health is promoting reduction of New Yorkers’ salt intakes by 40%, commenting: “If such a large reduction were actually to be achieved, however, New Yorkers would consume less sodium than people in most other developed countries do. And there is a possibility that such a big change in one element of their diet might have unintended harmful consequences.
Alderman continues: “But what really matters is whether reducing salt will ultimately prevent heart attacks and strokes and thus improve or extend life. And this depends not on blood pressure alone, but on all the metabolic consequences of limiting dietary sodium — which include greater resistance to insulin, increased sympathetic nerve activity and activation of the kidney-based renin-angiotensin system. All three of these effects increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. It is also possible that a change in this single dietary element might disturb unknown nutritional interactions…”
He concludes: “Absent convincing scientific evidence of a benefit to eating less salt, much less an assurance of safety, it might be wiser for the New York City Health Department to press for the research that could provide a solid scientific basis for action.”
Alderman is the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Hypertension and past president of both the American Society of hypertension and the International Society of Hypertension.
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