Why not salt ?

sportage

Lifer
Feb 1, 2008
11,492
3,161
136
With all the health concerns about fat in foods and junk food, and trans fat in foods. And the focus to reduce trans fat in foods. Why is too much salt in our diet never addressed on the same level? High salt in food is as bad as high trans fat. We get way too much salt in our diet from fast foods, junk food, etc. You'd think they'd have low salt chips, low salt processed foods, everything low salt option on the shelf in the markets or on menus.
But no...
I’m just surprised high salt is not address like they took on trans fat, concerning our high salt diet thru foods.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
58,052
8,277
126
I don't think salt's as bad as many make it out to be. Scandinavians eat a tremendous amount of salt, and they're some of the healthiest people in the world.
 

TheVrolok

Lifer
Dec 11, 2000
24,254
4,090
136
The DASH Diet is still pushed to some degree, but like anything else, it's all about whatever diet is "hip."
 

guyver01

Lifer
Sep 25, 2000
22,135
5
61
Salt is a key seasoning in every cooking dish. Without salt... food would lose its taste. The salt lobbying group would never allow salt to be bad-mouthed. they're more powerful than you can imagine.

Everyone knows this.
 

nonameo

Diamond Member
Mar 13, 2006
5,902
2
76
Some people are more sensitive to salt than others. The key is your blood pressure. It's the same way with cholesterol, its not so much that you need to not eat so much of it, but rather that you need to keep your cholesterol #'s under a certain amount. Easier for some, not so much for others.
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
Moderator
Sep 15, 2004
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Salt is a key seasoning in every cooking dish. Without salt... food would lose its taste. The salt lobbying group would never allow salt to be bad-mouthed. they're more powerful than you can imagine.

Everyone knows this.

Actually i recall reading an article from a major source (can't recall if it was the Times, the Journal, what have you) that said essentially that.

A: Companies have tried to reduce salt content in existing foods, and have managed to do so to some degree, but once you hit a certain point it is hard to have the same thing with less salt (The mentioned CheezIts. Once you reduced the salt below a certain level, it was no longer a CheezIt, it was dried paste)

B: The salt lobbyists have made sure that salt doesn't get a bad rap.
 

Ika

Lifer
Mar 22, 2006
14,264
3
81
my mom cooks with little to no salt. trust me - you want to keep salt in your food, so everything you eat doesn't taste like paper.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
64,498
12,865
136
Salt is a key seasoning in every cooking dish. Without salt... food would lose its taste. The salt lobbying group would never allow salt to be bad-mouthed. they're more powerful than you can imagine.

Everyone knows this.

If you can't make it good...make it salty.

That seems to be the mantra of the prepared food industry.

As someone with high blood pressure, I try to monitor my salt intake. (yes, my hypertension is probably caused by being a salt-a-holic most of my life...smoking and spending 30 years in a high stress job may not have helped either) but now that I actually try to limit my salt intake...I find it's dammed near impossible to stay under the 2400 mg. of sodium that's the recommended max.

Doesn't matter if it's fast food, a decent restaurant, or prepared foods in the grocery store...everything is full of salt.
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
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www.slatebrookfarm.com
Salt is an acquired taste. Salt doesn't really enhance the taste of food that much, however, if you're used to eating salty food, going back the other way makes the food taste more bland.
 

Judgement

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2001
3,815
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This article made me want to use hot sauces instead of salt more frequently, and then I remembered that most (all??) hot sauces have a ton of salt in them :(
 

Mike Gayner

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2007
6,175
3
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This article made me want to use hot sauces instead of salt more frequently, and then I remembered that most (all??) hot sauces have a ton of salt in them :(

Not home made hot sauce.

I do get the feeling, though, that salt is a little bit like HFCS - something that Americans are addicted to, which is much less of a problem elsewhere. It's not quite the same as HFCS though - pretty much nothing here has HFCS, but obviously there's still a lot of salty food. But we don't seem to have the same salt addiction/processed food addiction that exists over there.
 

Mike Gayner

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2007
6,175
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I don't think salt's as bad as many make it out to be. Scandinavians eat a tremendous amount of salt, and they're some of the healthiest people in the world.

I see a lot of people say this, but I haven't seen anyone provide any evidence to support it. Can you please provide a source to verify a) their relative sodium intake, and b) their relative cardiovascular health.

edit: This website indicates that both Norway and Sweden have higher rates of CV disease than the USA, and Norway is similar. This site suggests that their high levels of CV disease are indeed linked to their high sodium intakes. I don't know how good any of the data is because this is just from a quick Google search. But I would like to see any good data that describes the contrary position.
 
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esun

Platinum Member
Nov 12, 2001
2,214
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They're trying to regulate it, as others have noted. And it is definitely something that could use regulation. If you eat basically any form of processed foods, you're going to go over the new 1500 mg recommended salt intake. The cost in terms of healthcare must be immense.
 

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
58,052
8,277
126
I see a lot of people say this, but I haven't seen anyone provide any evidence to support it. Can you please provide a source to verify a) their relative sodium intake, and b) their relative cardiovascular health.

edit: This website indicates that both Norway and Sweden have higher rates of CV disease than the USA, and Norway is similar. This site suggests that their high levels of CV disease are indeed linked to their high sodium intakes. I don't know how good any of the data is because this is just from a quick Google search. But I would like to see any good data that describes the contrary position.

North America has favorable hypertension rates compared to Europe in general. Sweden did fairly well compared to the rest of Europe...

NfB7t.jpg


http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/289/18/2363

Tbh, I thought they had better health than that.
 

AznAnarchy99

Lifer
Dec 6, 2004
14,695
117
106
My girlfriend's family (Filipino) and my Grandma (Viet) all have high blood pressure due to the years of eating super super salty food. Asian people love their soy sauce and salt.

I try to regulate how much salt I eat as well, but if you eat out at all, everything has salt and lots of it. When I cook I dont use salt at all but I do use a bit of MSG for flavoring, which tastes much better than salt.

As for why people dont really talk about it? I have no idea but I've always thought it was common knowledge that too much salt = high blood pressure.

I always find it weird when I see people eating then they start pouring extra salt into their food... so nasty..
 
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Kirby

Lifer
Apr 10, 2006
12,028
2
0
salt is fucking good. shit, i love grits but they're inedible without salt.