Sometimes when telling the truth isn't "politically correct," messages in the mainstream media receive short shrift. Elitism trumps the views of the "man on the street." We've seen it blatantly in coverage of the salt and health issue. But as Bobby Dylan famously sang "the times they are a-changin.'" Today's Times (London, UK) carried a story dismissing efforts to demonize salt intake ("Is salt really the devil's ingredient? "). No, concludes journalist Peta Bee, quoting the chief dietitian at London's St. Georges Hospital, Dr. Michael Alderman from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Dr. Paul Whelton of Loyola University.
While these experts weigh-in saying the scientific evidence against dietary salt has been over-interpreted and anti-salt campaigns overblown, the often missed story is found in the "Comments" that regular readers contribute. They may not be "informed" by the science, but they reflect well-earned experiences that offer practical tempering to elite PC opinion. Consider these:
- "I find it very annoying that I was forces to eat tasteless food throughout my childhood due to my bother's belief that salt is bad." -- Genevieve Wilkins
- "I have often wondered why salt licks were provided for animals. We are animals, aren't we?" -- alan burden
- "I have truly believed for many years that if the government says salt is bad fro us, in time the opposite would prove to be true...how much taxpayers' money is wasted on health propaganda campaigns." -- Nicholas Mayes
- "It's funny - my horse's vet tells me that adding salt to feed isn't a problem....Odd how it's so difference in humans - almost like it's just an excuse for the government to interfere and tell us all how to live our lives, isn't it?" - K Charlton
- "Nanny doesn't always know best." - Chris Palmer
- "Be extremely careful about the anti salt message. I cut out salt on this advice, then moved to a sub tropical country and became seriously ill, with low salt at least one of the causes." - Paul Flynn
There seems to be a bubbling up of resentment about dietary diktats that may make holding the line on the anti-salt message akin to the fall of the Berlin Wall -- its demise could be more sudden and complete than "intelligence" estimates.
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