James DiNicolantonio - The Salt Fix

Consider Scandinavian novelist Isak Dinesens famous line, The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.

Theres poetic truth in this, but it also speaks to our biological reality as humans. Our physical inner world was born of the sea, and we carry the saltiness of the ocean inside us. Salt is an essential nutrient that our body depends on to live. Its proper balance is an equilibrium that our bodies strive to return us to, again and again.

But over the past century, our culture has defied this biological drive, has smeared the urge for salt as a self-destructive addiction. Weve all heard the guidelines. We know that were supposed to eat low-saturated-fat diets, say no to cigarettes, go for a jog, learn to relaxand dramatically cut down on salt. This list of admonishments certainly gets a lot of things right. But theres one big problem with it: most of us dont need to eat low-salt diets. In fact, for most of us, more salt would be better for our health rather than less.

Meanwhile, the white crystal weve demonized all these years has been taking the fall for another, one so sweet that we refused to believe it wasnt benign. A white crystal that, consumed in excess, can lead to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease: not salt, but sugar.

Thankfully, the mainstream press is starting to catch on that sugar is a wolf in sheeps clothing, with low-sugar diets rising in popularity every day. And even fat has been getting a fresh look, as were now encouraged to seek out the beneficial kinds in fatty fish, avocados, and olives.

So why do we still see labels on salty foods that make the saltshaker look downright toxic? Why do we keep reading fearmongering headlines about salt in mainstream, reputable media, like these?

Eating Too Much Salt Is Killing Us by the Millions

Forbes, March 24, 2013

1.6 Million Heart Disease Deaths Every Year Caused by Eating Too Much Salt

Healthline News, August 14, 2014

U.S. Teens Eat Too Much Salt, Hiking Obesity Risk

HealthDay, February 3, 2014

For the Good of Your Heart, Keep Holding the Salt

Harvard Health Blog, July 11, 2016

The truth is, our most hallowed health institutions cling to outdated, disproven theories about saltand their resistance to the truth is putting our public health at risk. Until the low-salt dogma is successfully challenged, well be stuck in this same perpetual loop that keeps our bodies salt-deprived, sugar-addicted, and ultimately deficient in many critical nutrients. Many of us will continue struggling with insatiable hunger and hold on to weight around the middle despite following recommended lifestyle changes.

If youre diligent about your health, you may have been struggling to achieve the low-salt guidelines that limit you to 2,300 milligrams of sodium (basically 1 teaspoon of salt) per dayor even 1,500 milligrams ( teaspoon of salt) if you are older, are African American, or have high blood pressure. Indeed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 50 percent of people in the United States are currently monitoring or reducing their sodium intake, and almost 25 percent are being told by a health professional to curb their consumption of sodium.

If you are among them, you may have been buying less-tasty low sodium versions of your favorite foods. You may feel a twinge of guilt when you sneak a handful of your partners popcorn at the movies. You may have picked olives out of your salad and ignored every recipes call to salt to taste. Perhaps its been years since youve had a warm, salty pretzel or a bowl of satisfying puttanesca, full of savory capers, out of fear of those evil grams of sodium.

You may have been mightily struggling to restrict yourself, not knowing that your salt cravings are totally, biologically normal, akin to our thirst for water. Scientists have found that across all populations, when people are left to unrestricted sodium consumption, they tend to settle in at 3,000 to 4,000 milligrams of sodium per day. This amount holds true for people in all hemispheres, all climates, all range of cultures and social backgroundswhen permitted free access to salt, all humans gravitate to the same threshold of salt consumption, a threshold we now know is the sodium-intake range for optimal health.