How bad can the dietary advice be that hospital patients get? This tweet from Dr. Ted Naiman shows an example that may be the worst ever. Continue Reading →
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New Study: Low-Salt Diets May Be Dangerous!
Could it be dangerous to avoid salt? The controversy over the advice to eat less salt continues with a new study published in the prestigious The Lancet.
Researchers find that people eating a low amount of salt have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death. A moderate intake is generally associated with the lowest risk. But people eating a high amount of salt only have an increased risk of heart disease if they also have high blood pressure.
What it means
This study – like most – is based on statistical data, that can’t prove cause and effect. But it strengthens the argument that a moderate intake of salt, 3 to 6 grams of sodium per day (7,5 – 15 grams of salt), may be best for pretty much everyone. This matches what most people eat in developed societies.
Current official advice on low-salt diets may be misguided. It’s possible that it’s even harmful to avoid salt!
So if you like salt you can probably have all you want. Just try to keep your salt intake somewhat moderate if you have high blood pressure.
More
- Science Daily: Low-salt diets may not be beneficial for all, study suggests
- Medical Daily: Low-Sodium Diet May Increase Heart Disease Risk For Those Without High Blood Pressure
- CBC: Low-Sodium Diets Not Always Worth Their Salt, McMaster Study Finds
- The Lancet: Associations of Urinary Sodium Excretion with Cardiovascular Events in Individuals with and Without Hypertension: A Pooled Analysis of Data from Four Studies
Tip: Don’t Be Afraid to Add More Salt, If You Need It
Do you feel tired or low on energy on a low-carb diet? Do you perhaps even get a headache? Do you find it hard to concentrate? Are you lacking motivation?
These are common symptoms that can have a very simple cause: a lack of salt. And if so, you can get rid of the symptoms in 15 minutes, by drinking half a teaspoon of salt (about 2 grams) dissolved in a large glass of water. Alternatively have a cup of bouillon (the tastier option).
Salt has been way too demonized. However, it’s true that excessive salt can raise blood pressure a tiny bit, so if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure you should use this tip with caution.
Under normal circumstances though, and especially on a low-carb diet (that tends to lower blood pressure and increase salt losses), you’re probably going to do better with a moderate amount of salt. Not too much, but not too little either.
If you’re on a low-carb diet and feel low on energy and motivation, tired and unfocused… then just add some salt. If you feel much better within 15 minutes it is likely that you were low on salt. If so, you can repeat this tip daily as needed.
New Study: Reducing Salt Might Harm Heart Failure Patients
January 2 by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt
in Salt
in Salt 
Is salt good or bad for you? This is a hotly debated topic. For most people moderation may be the best answer.
A brand new study shakes the old advice that people with heart failure should avoid salt – something all heart failure patients get the advice to do, based on zero real evidence.
A new study tracked 900 patients with heart failure for three years. It found that people who restricted their salt intake surprisingly did MUCH worse, having an 85% higher chance of early death or hospitalization:
- JACC: Impact of Dietary Sodium Restriction on Heart Failure Outcomes CME
- WebMD: Reducing Salt Might Harm Heart Failure Patients
It may be that the current low-salt advice to heart failure patients – that everyone gets – is lethal. They may need salt. Future randomized studies are required to know for sure.
The 5 Most Common Mistakes on LCHF [Teaser]
Do you get a great effect from eating LCHF? Or is there a problem – do you have a hard time reaching your goal weight, are you hungry or do you feel bad?
In that case you could be doing one of the five most common mistakes on LCHF. In this short video I go through them.
Above you can see the first half of the video, with three of the mistakes. The whole video with all five mistakes is available on the membership pages (free trial one month).
Have you made any of the mistakes or do you have any more to suggest?
PS
Sign up for a free membership trial in a minute and you can see this full video instantly – as well as many other video courses, movies, interviews, presentations, Q&A with experts, etc. Like these:
More Salt Is OK According to New Study
Do you know anyone who has bought in to the fear-mongering propaganda against salt? Now yet another big study indicates that the fear of salt is highly exaggerated.
When they examined the salt habits of over 100,000 people, it turned out that people who salted more than the recommended amount had the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease. Those who salted a lot less – according to official guidelines – had a higher (!) risk of disease.
NBCNews.com: Pour on the Salt? New Research Suggests More Is OK
JSW: Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds
The study should be taken with a grain of salt (pun intended) as this is, as usual, only statistics. But like previous studies, it suggests it’s fine to put salt on your food at home without feeling guilty.
However, it may for many reasons, be wise to avoid ready-made foods and junk food (and bread) that have lots of added salt. This salt is to hide the boring taste of cheap, poor ingredients. Continue Reading →
Is Salt Dangerous? Or Good for You?
Is salt dangerous? Certain organizations – such as those issuing official dietary guidelines – have warned for a long time against salt and recommended a reduced intake. But as often when it comes to nutrition, the science is far from settled.
A recent review of all good studies in this area shows that the amount of salt that most people consume is associated with good health. Both an extremely high salt consumption and a low consumption seem to be worse.
The review can be added to several similar reviews in recent years, that question the dead-certain warnings against salt. Neither too much, nor too little, seems to be best.
You can actually get too little salt. This causes fatigue, dizziness and difficulty concentrating. You lose focus. And maybe you don’t just feel worse from salt deficiency, perhaps it’s also really bad for your health.
Avoid high doses of salt from junk food, cheap processed foods, soda and bread. Extreme amounts of salt are hardly good for you, and there are more reasons to avoid such foods. But if you eat real food, you can probably put as much salt on your food as you like.
If you have symptoms of salt deficiency, try taking half a teaspoon of salt, dissolved in water. If you quickly feel better, you were probably salt deficient. Continue Reading →
Should You Eat Less Salt – Or More?
January 19 2014 by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt in Salt
in Salt 
Is salt a white poison, like sugar and flour? Or is it essential and something a lot of people are deficient in? Could you feel better by including more salt in your diet?
The role of salt is often discussed, and warnings against salt usually win big headlines.
Fox News: New study indicates that reducing salt intake could save 100,000 lives per year
But the science is not nearly as clear as some believe or pretend.
The Darkest Secrets of the Food Industry
March 28 2013 by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt in Industrial food-like products, Salt, Saturated fat, Sugar/fructose, The Obesity Epidemic
in Industrial food-like products, Salt, Saturated fat, Sugar/fructose, The Obesity Epidemic Do you want to know the darkest secrets of the food industry? Read the great new book Salt Sugar Fat, like I’m doing right now.
The author, Pulitzer prize-winner Michael Moss, was just on the Daily Show. Watch it above.
A short comment on the book: While it’s mostly great it’s also partly stuck in the failed dogma of yesterday. Natural saturated fat is still a villain. The main solution? FRUITANDVEGETABLES. Yawn. But if you ignore that the book is absolutely fascinating. Mostly for the insights we get into the minds of the people running the processed food industry.
Highly recommended: Salt Sugar Fat – How the Food Giants Hooked Us.
The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food
February 25 2013 by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt in Industrial food-like products, Salt, Sugar/fructose, The Obesity Epidemic
in Industrial food-like products, Salt, Sugar/fructose, The Obesity Epidemic 
Here’s a great new article on how junk food is engineered to be addictive:
NYT: The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food
It’s perhaps nothing really new and the journalist is still stuck in old-fashioned failed ideas (sugar, salt and fat are equally bad). But the article gives great insights into the minds of the men running the junk food industry. Like this quote:
People could point to these things and say, ‘They’ve got too much sugar, they’ve got too much salt,’ ” Bible said. “Well, that’s what the consumer wants, and we’re not putting a gun to their head to eat it. That’s what they want. If we give them less, they’ll buy less, and the competitor will get our market. So you’re sort of trapped.”
You see the problem? Any junk food company trying to focus on healthy food (instead of focusing on making the junk food ever more addictive) risks being quickly eliminated. Any executive trying to do what’s right (and make less money) will likely be fired.
So what happens if the industry is left unregulated? It turns into a rapid evolution towards ever more addictive and ever less healthy junk food. It’s what’s been happening for a long time.
Here’s how a former Coca Cola executive was secretly thinking about expanding his market and making more money:
Dunn said. “How many drinkers do I have? And how many drinks do they drink? If you lost one of those heavy users, if somebody just decided to stop drinking Coke, how many drinkers would you have to get, at low velocity, to make up for that heavy user? The answer is a lot. It’s more efficient to get my existing users to drink more.”
I imagine that’s not too different from how any drug dealer thinks.