More News on Salt

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Re: More News on Salt

Postby Ltldogg » Wed Oct 05, 2016 10:17 am

From Jeff Novick's FAQ Thread (viewtopic.php?f=22&t=37233):

Salt, Sea Salt & Other Gourmet Salts
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... 22&t=23557

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... =22&t=5966

http://www.jeffnovick.com/RD/Articles/E ... evels.html
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Re: More News on Salt

Postby GeoffreyLevens » Thu Oct 06, 2016 8:47 am

And this just in, hot off the presses as they say

Sodium Intake and All-Cause Mortality Over 20 Years in the Trials of Hypertension Prevention
Abstract

Background

The relationship between lower sodium intake and total mortality remains controversial.

Objectives

This study examined the relationship between well-characterized measures of sodium intake estimated from urinary sodium excretion and long-term mortality.

Methods

Two trials, phase I (1987 to 1990), over 18 months, and phase II (1990 to 1995), over 36 months, were undertaken in TOHP (Trials of Hypertension Prevention), which implemented sodium reduction interventions. The studies included multiple 24-h urine samples collected from pre-hypertensive adults 30 to 54 years of age during the trials. Post-trial deaths were ascertained over a median 24 years, using the National Death Index. The associations between mortality and the randomized interventions as well as with average sodium intake were examined.

Results

Among 744 phase I and 2,382 phase II participants randomized to sodium reduction or control, 251 deaths occurred, representing a nonsignificant 15% lower risk in the active intervention (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.66 to 1.09; p = 0.19). Among 2,974 participants not assigned to an active sodium intervention, 272 deaths occurred. There was a direct linear association between average sodium intake and mortality, with an HR of 0.75, 0.95, and 1.00 (references) and 1.07 (p trend = 0.30) for <2,300, 2,300 to <3,600, 3,600 to <4,800, and ≥4,800 mg/24 h, respectively; and with an HR of 1.12 per 1,000 mg/24 h (95% CI: 1.00 to 1.26; p = 0.05). There was no evidence of a J-shaped or nonlinear relationship. The HR per unit increase in sodium/potassium ratio was 1.13 (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.27; p = 0.04).

Conclusions

We found an increased risk of mortality for high-sodium intake and a direct relationship with total mortality, even at the lowest levels of sodium intake. These results are consistent with a benefit of reduced sodium and sodium/potassium intake on total mortality over a 20-year period.
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Re: More News on Salt

Postby dynodan62 » Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:22 am

The creator/host of a pair of popular PBS cooking shows (recently fired, and launching a new enterprise) was recently interviewed on a local tv program. In closing, they asked him for his advice to aspiring cooks seeking success. His response: "use salt"!
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Re: More News on Salt

Postby dynodan62 » Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:44 am

dailycarbs wrote:My research of n=1 tells me that sodium is sodium. Meals loaded with sodium (be it sea salt, kosher salt, msg, whatever) produce the same results in me: bloating, delayed BM, cotton mouth thirst, slight headache. I'd call it a low grade poisoning event. Our foods have the sodium we need. No need to add it. If a pinch at the table helps you stick to this woe that's one thing. Doesn't mean that salt is a health food.

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=5966&hilit=Sea+salt


If I am cooking something that I know will taste ultra bland, and I thus will not be able to resist the temptation to add salt at the table, I often add msg during preparation since sodium in that form is less harmful. Still, since I generally avoid processed food (and always select those that are salt-free), rarely eat in restaurants, and NEVER cook with salt at home, I believe the enhanced flavor I get from occasionally sprinkling on a bit of large grain kosher sea-salt justifies it's use in keeping my WFPB meals fully satisfying.
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Re: More News on Salt

Postby vegman » Fri Oct 07, 2016 10:11 am

My experience is that when I am habituated to salt, some unsalted food tastes OK, but a lot of it tastes way too bland. I usually don't use spices that might mask this. However, if I become de-habituated by not eating salt for a while (2 or 3 days?), unsalted food tastes good. I have usually been de-habituated for the past 5 years.

So it seems to be a matter of adjusting to not using any salt. Not sure how long this process usually takes.

dynodan62 wrote:If I am cooking something that I know will taste ultra bland, and I thus will not be able to resist the temptation to add salt at the table, I often add msg during preparation since sodium in that form is less harmful. Still, since I generally avoid processed food (and always select those that are salt-free), rarely eat in restaurants, and NEVER cook with salt at home, I believe the enhanced flavor I get from occasionally sprinkling on a bit of large grain kosher sea-salt justifies it's use in keeping my WFPB meals fully satisfying.
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Re: More News on Salt

Postby Taggart » Sat Jul 20, 2019 3:04 am

Whitehall’s laissez-faire approach to salt will kill or maim thousands, experts say

https://www.itv.com/news/2019-07-19/exp ... thousands/
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Re: More News on Salt

Postby DenverGuy » Sun Jul 21, 2019 1:31 pm

How about Morton Lite Salt?

from their site:

"Morton Lite Salt is a salt and potassium chloride blend that contains 50% less sodium than regular salt. It cooks the same, bakes the same, measures the same and flavors the same – so it can be used in all your recipes just like regular salt with the same great results."
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Re: More News on Salt

Postby JeffN » Sun Jul 21, 2019 1:55 pm

DenverGuy wrote:How about Morton Lite Salt?

from their site:

"Morton Lite Salt is a salt and potassium chloride blend that contains 50% less sodium than regular salt. It cooks the same, bakes the same, measures the same and flavors the same – so it can be used in all your recipes just like regular salt with the same great results."


Not recommended. Here is why...

viewtopic.php?t=11630

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Re: More News on Salt

Postby dynodan62 » Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:41 pm

Watched a Dr. Oz rerun today, and a repeat guest/nutritional ‘expert’ (likely touting his latest diet/cook book) was promoting the addition of salt to pasta cooking water, claiming very little salt actually ends up in the pasta, which would taste very bland otherwise. I maintain that if you only add salt AFTER cooking though, at least you can keep an accurate track of your intake. I wonder if anyone has ever seen any reliable study that measures the percentage of sodium chloride (in a boiling solution) that the pasta actually absorbs (Jeff...?). If so, I’m betting those figures are likely NOT published in the guest’s diet book.
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Re: More News on Salt

Postby JeffN » Tue Jul 23, 2019 6:55 am

Here is an old study on it..

THE FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY S14018
Change in Sodium Content of Potato, Pasta and Rice on Boiling with Different Levels of Salt
Analytical Report
June 2006

https://web.archive.org/web/20101224202 ... n07_v3.pdf

and the write up on it

https://web.archive.org/web/20101224202 ... ort_id=120

In uncooked pasta, the concentration of sodium was higher in the rice based pasta products (24 mg/100g) compared with the wheat-based pasta (2.3 mg/100g). The sodium content in pasta cooked with different levels of salt increased approximately linearly with the amount of salt added to the cooking water. Pasta cooked in 4g salt/100g raw took up on average 28 mg Na/100g whereas when cooked in 40g/100g raw this increased approximately 10 fold to 230 mg Na/100g.

...

These results have been compared with the 6th edition of McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods (2) and on the whole compare well with one exception. The sodium concentration of uncooked wholewheat pasta was found to be lower than previously published values (3 mg Na/100g raw pasta compared with the published value of 130 mg Na/100g) but did compare well with the levels indicated by packaging labelling.


Here was an experiment done by "Cooking Light" on it

https://www.cookinglight.com/eating-sma ... 964#162964

THE TEST: We boiled a pound each of dry spaghetti (sodium-free) in 4 quarts of water containing varying amounts of salt.

THE RESULTS: (per 6 ounces cooked pasta); 1 teaspoon salt (2,360mg sodium): 75mg sodium; 1 tablespoon salt (7,080mg sodium): 253mg sodium; 2 tablespoons salt (14,160mg sodium): 446mg sodium; ¼ cup salt (28,319mg sodium): 896mg sodium

Bottom line: It's not that pasta soaks up salt like a sponge: Only 3% was absorbed into each serving of pasta. But 3% of the sodium in ¼ cup is 896mg—nearly 40% of your 2,300mg daily limit.


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Re: More News on Salt

Postby dynodan62 » Tue Jul 23, 2019 12:56 pm

A complex issue.
I see the nutritional label on my whole wheat pasta package lists sodium content of dry product at zero. I wonder, is this much like the way manufacturers are allowed to say their product contains zero fat because the serving size is usually unrealistically small, and anything below a certain level is allowed to be called totally ‘fat free’? Also, the cooking instructions read: “salt to taste”, so there is likely really no way for the consumer then to accurately predict the sodium content of a realistic serving size of the typically cooked product, even if the general public DID have access to that 3% formula, and WAS willing to do the math?
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Re: More News on Salt

Postby f1jim » Wed Jul 24, 2019 9:38 am

Salt to taste is actually the better technique than loading the product with salt in cooking.
For example... If someone cooks up a nice soup using no added salt then adds the amount of sodium typically found in store soup one would say "dang, that's salty." But incorporated while cooking the salt gets lost in the other ingredients.
This is why we will always use less salt when salting at the table vs cooking with it.
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Re: More News on Salt

Postby sunnystuf » Tue Jul 30, 2019 10:53 am

I think everyone is different. If I avoid salt, I feel awful.
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