Cardiologist Chef Debunks Salt Myth
Has the tide turned for salt in 2012? Salt faces regular demonization from the media, lawmakers, and food police, with the hyperbolic Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) even calling it the “deadly white powder you already snort.” But as cardiologist-turned-chef Michael S. Fenster points out in The Atlantic, studies have not conclusively shown that a reduction in dietary sodium equates with a reduction in hypertension or its resulting effects.
Additionally, Fenster reminds:
The governmental recommendations are predicated on the assumption that the “taste for sodium is acquired and can be modified ” (PDF). The reason sodium and chloride (the constituents of what we refer to as ‘salt’) are classified as essential minerals is that we require them to live. We are physiologically programmed, like a gazelle on the Serengeti, to seek out and consume salt should we not get a sufficient amount in our diet.
So without conclusive evidence and some studies suggesting restriction could be harmful, there really isn’t a credible reason for regulators to involve themselves in the personal choices of hungry Americans. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard a chef tell regulators to get out of the kitchen, and if food cops and their regulatory allies continue to push forward with junk science, it won’t be the last.