Why is sodium really that bad for you?

I bought some snack a jacks popcorn today because it said it was 47 calories on the pack but then i flipped it over to read the nutritionals on the back...OMG. the pack WEIGHED about 13grams worth of popcorn but there was 0.5g of equivalent salt in the ENTIRE 13grams!!! Now someone tell me - this is a lot right???

And also, government nurtional blah di blah people say we're supposed to have no more than 6 grams of salt a day...so i checked labels...yep, cereal high in salt, popcorn (salty), soup mix for lunch i had (oh yes! Salty!!)

Oh dear....please someone tell me salt isn't toooooooo awful.

it makes you bloat, and i also think i've heard it raises your blood pressure

In addition to raising the blood pressure dietary salt is responsible for several other harmful effects. The most important are a number which, though independent of the arterial pressure, also harm the cardiovascular system. A high salt intake increases the mass of the left ventricle, thickens and stiffens conduit arteries and thickens and narrows resistance arteries, including the coronary and renal arteries. It also increases the number of strokes, the severity of cardiac failure and the tendency for platelets to aggregate. In renal disease, a high salt intake accelerates the rate of renal functional deterioration. Apart from its effect on the cardiovascular system dietary salt has an effect on calcium and bone metabolism, which underlies the finding that in post-menopausal women salt intake controls bone density of the upper femur and pelvis. Dietary salt controls the incidence of carcinoma of the stomach and there is some evidence which suggests that salt is associated with the severity of asthma in male asthmatic subjects.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11967714

However, I wouldn't be too worried about one day!  Just make sure you awtch out for that in the future.  I try to buy low sodium products and avoid adding salt to my cooking. 

"The ‘salt hypothesis’ is that higher levels of salt in the diet lead to higher levels of blood pressure, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. The corollary is a public health recommendation for a drastic cut in the level of dietary salt, by a factor of two or more. The salt hypothesis and its public health corollary have a number of highly visible advocates, both individual and corporate.

Alderman1 provides an incisive review of the evidence from epidemiological studies, as well as experiments on humans and animals. He concludes that existing data do not support draconian restrictions on salt intake. He even cites some studies showing that a marked reduction in salt levels will do more harm than good,..."

 http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/ful l/31/2/319

wow..biology lesson...lol joke ;)

i have low(ish) blood pressure...i think...but does blood pressure change swiftly on a day to day basis? Like, one day it's high then the very next day it's right down again?

Also, I'm think of buying some plain unpopped kernels of popcorn from the health store next time - it just looks 'safer' - and flavour it with...well what are good non salt alternatives?

also, how do you 'air pop' corn without oil? doesn't it burn?

I dont know where you got the 6g of salt thing but that's waaaaay too much. You should be getting no more than 2400mg at most, that's 2.4g, you actually only NEED something like 1000mg. If you're getting 6g/day then you're getting way more than you should.

The main thing is that it raises blood pressure but there are a lot more "little" things like the fact that it'll make you bloated (it regulates fluid in the body) and thirsty.

It does something related to muscle or muscle contraction... can't remember exactly.... I remember talking about it in my nutrition classes.

Original Post by r2r2:

Also, I'm think of buying some plain unpopped kernels of popcorn from the health store next time - it just looks 'safer' - and flavour it with...well what are good non salt alternatives?

also, how do you 'air pop' corn without oil? doesn't it burn?

 You don't have to go to the health store for plain, unpopped kernels.  They should be available in a regular grocery store... unless you're looking for bio or some other "healthy" designation.

Try various spices and spice mixes.  Garlic is good.  I've also tried throwing in some chopped jalapeno peppers.  The popcorn gets a little soggy, but if you eat it quickly, it tastes great.  Or go for the sweet popcorn flavor using a little splenda or other sugar alternative.

For sublimelmf ..... 1g salt contains 400mg sodium.  So 6g of salt contains 2400mg sodium.  Salt and sodium aren't the same thing. 

It's a good idea to get into the habit of not eating salty foods on too regular a basis.  Blood-pressure problem s won't affect most people until they are in their 40's or 50's but... like a lot of other lifestyle choices... it pays to start early.

My metric system might be off,  but isn't 1000 milligram = to 1 gram (milli meaning thousand)?

 

We're are the none US users here? Maybe they can clarify this :)

 

 

Bottom line - your body needs to mobilize things all the time - we are 70% water (brain 80%) and so there is lots of liquid movement going on.   Even the good fats that we need get immobilized by salt.  Salt gunges every form of liquid up.  We do need a minimal amount for survival but beyond that is simply damaging.

oops yea i got confused, sorry

I guess I shouldn't have posted in the middle of the night lol

 

As far as the popcorn, look up popcorn recipes online, there are some interesting ones :)

1000 mg = 1g is true.  The recommended max is 6000mg (6g) of salt or 2400mg (2.4g) sodium.  In practical terms it's about 1 teaspoon of added salt per day.

On the back of nutritional guides on pakages/in magazines I have seen that the government guidline is NO MORE than 6grams of salt - in a day. 6 grams is a lot I know, but I think they wouldn't put 6grams as a limit unless they knew that 6grams wasn't going to risk your health.

Anyway - does anyone know how to 'air pop' corn without burning it? I'm sorry if i sound stupid...i've never actually made popcorn except for prepacked in a microwave bag!

You air pop corn in an Air Popper.

You can also try first spraying popcorn with one of those spray oils and then flavoring it with low fat parmesan cheese. It has very little sodium and lots of flavor. Really yummy. You don't even need that much.

Aside from the fact that salt contributes to hypertension, is there a good reason to avoid moderate-to-high levels of salt intake?

[I have fairly low blood pressure.]

Centers for Disease Control wrote: Current dietary guidelines recommend that adults in general should consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. However, if you are in the following population groups, you should consume no more than 1,500 mg per day.

* You are 40 years of age or older.
* You are African American.
* You have high blood pressure.

Personally I take that guideline to mean that you shouldn't consume more than about 1 mg of salt for every 1 calorie you consume (2300 mg on a ~2300 calorie diet). If I'm limiting my calories to about 1500 then I would assume I would fall into that group above.

But is there a reason I should not consume a disproportionate amount of salt? Why not 2300mg on a 1500 calorie diet?

Original Post by katexas:

Aside from the fact that salt contributes to hypertension, is there a good reason to avoid moderate-to-high levels of salt intake?

It's a little like asking 'aside from the fact that smoking cigarettes contributes to the risk of lung cancer, is there a good reason to avoid smoking moderate-to-high numbers of cigarettes?'.  

Extra salt (like smoking cigarettes) short-term won't affect your health short-term.  But if you know it'll affect you in the long-run you may decide not to get in the bad habit of eating too much salt.  BTW... 2400 mg sodium applies whether you're eating 1500 cals or 3000 cals...

Original Post by trhawley:

Alderman1 provides an incisive review of the evidence from epidemiological studies, as well as experiments on humans and animals. He concludes that existing data do not support draconian restrictions on salt intake. He even cites some studies showing that a marked reduction in salt levels will do more harm than good,..."

 http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/ful l/31/2/319

 All I know is, those of us who have to monitor our blood pressure and fluid retention must restrict salt or pay the consequences.  My BP is low, but it will jump upwards as I retain fluid.  A friend has his BP go through the roof if he eats something salty.

That doesn't appy to healthy people, and I really don't see a problem with a normal amount of salt.  If you eat too much salty stuff, you're going to be really thirsty and should expect the scale to show a gain when you drink all you want to.

That's not based on anything scientific, just real life observances and personal experience.  Thank for the link to the article. Here's one for you

Google Search - DASH Research  There are lots of studies with fully published and peer reviewed research.  So the author of your article is out and out lying.