For years, the anti-salt advocates have ducked the scientific evidence and relied on the support of the largest medical and health institutions to prop up their contention that there is an unassailable link between salt intake and cardiovascular disease. This fallacious strategy is known as Argumentum ad Verecundiam - the reliance on known institutions and entrenched doctrines, rather than experimental data - the sort of thing that Francis Bacon grappled against in his struggle to bring us the scientific method.
Predictably, science eventually finds it way to the surface and in this case, the Argumentum ad Verecundiam is showing signs of collapse in the face of mounting evidence against a link between salt intake and cardiovascular disease.
In the most recent issue of the Journal of Interactive Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery , Drs. Jay Walker, Alastair MacKenzie and Joel Dunning of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, UK carried out an in-depth study of all available evidence to determine if restricting dietary salt intake would provide protection from adverse cardiovascular events or mortality. Using reported search parameters, 462 papers were identified of which 14 papers represented the best evidence on the subject. They concluded that restricting sodium intake to levels below 6 g per day as most international guidelines, such as those of the AHA, the US Dietary Guideline Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition recommend may reduce blood pressure, but found it impossible to find a link between salt and heart disease due to a "lack of adequately powered randomised trials or observational studies conducted with sufficient rigor."
This information corresponds with the recent publication of the Rotterdam Study by Geleijnse et al, as well as the evaluation of the health outcomes from Finland's three decade long salt reduction program .
The myth-information about salt and cardiovascular health outcomes has gone on for a long time and misdirected our focus from more practical and effective approaches to achieving good health. It's time we start devoting our resources to solutions that have scientific merit, such as improving the overall diet through systems and products that encourage greater consumption of fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products.
