FDA’s plan to cut excess salt draws sharp criticism, unlikely supporters

[SecularMotion]

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration released a draft voluntary guidance for the food industry aimed at phasing out excess salt in processed and commercially prepared food over a span of 10 years. The move, which health experts say could save thousands of lives, has drawn mixed reactions from the food industry.

Leading food companies, such as Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Unilever, joined the American Heart Association, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Public Health Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in support of the FDA’s efforts to reduce sodium intake, while the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association (GMA) and the Salt Institute, a trade association, balked at the new guidance.

The GMA hinted at future squabbles with the FDA over nutrition data. In a statement, the association wrote that it would “look forward to working with the agency to ensure the best and most recent science is taken into account when determining sodium intake levels for optimal health for all Americans.”

The Salt Institute, on the other hand, claimed that the FDA’s guidance is “tantamount to malpractice and inexcusable.” The Institute cites research and reviews that found a lack of a clear scientific consensus on how low to go in terms of salt intake.

http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/06/fdas-plan-to-cut-excess-salt-draws-sharp-criticism-unlikely-supporters/

[SheilaT]

1. I've have long believed that the supposed horrors of salt

are exaggerated.

I have cut back on salt somewhat, although I couldn't begin to quantify how much I actually consume on any given day. I have noticed that a lot of things taste unpleasantly salty to me, especially various commercially prepared foods.

When I'm cooking something from scratch, I generally don't add any salt to the entire dish, just what I want when I serve myself.

[moriah]

2. It depends on the person and their physiology.

You may not need a low-salt diet. The people who do find it shocking when they start looking at labels and trying to follow their doctor's advice, particularly in canned foods where its used for preservation.

[Wounded Bear]

3. It kind of has been...

although there is a statistical link between excess sodium in blood serum and various problems including high blood pressure.

These changes don't strike me as being all that drastic. Reading labels can be rather scary, though. Often you'll see vast amounts of salt content that seems unwarranted as a seasoning or even as a preservative.

[Major Nikon]

7. There's also a statistical link between low salt intake and death

Lower sodium excretion was associated with higher CVD mortality.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/mobile/article.aspx?articleid=899663

[Wounded Bear]

9. I actually had a low sodium episode last summer...

I was getting severe leg cramps at night, constipation, etc. I self diagnosed as dehydration, not unreasonable as it was record hot summer, I was working full time and all that. I started drinking shit-loads of water. Never really helped, but

Next doctor visit, she noticed an anomaly in my blood test, had to double check it because she didn't expect it. It was low sodium! We talked, and the upshot was I was taking diuretic pills for my high blood pressure, and between that and my "over-hydration" I had leeched the sodium out of my blood rather badly.

Anyway, we adjusted my meds to a different type, I started to rationalize how much water I drank and the problems have mostly gone away. Last blood tests were normal. Blood pressure is still mildly problematic, but at least the other symptoms have subsided.

63 and I'm still learning shit. I guess that's a good thing.

p.s. I suggested I could eat more chips and junk food to boost my blood sodium, but she didn't like that idea. Damn pill pusher.

[-none]

4. Salt is cheap. Reducing the salt content cuts into profits because then they must add more expensive

spices. People are so used to high salt content foods they don't taste it. If fact some even add more salt to it on their plate.

And while we are on the subject of salt, sea salt is not any more healthier for you than any other versions of sodium chloride. Salt is basically salt and too much is bad for you, no matter what it is called.

[Major Nikon]

6. It's not nearly as simple as "too much is bad"

Those that don't have high blood pressure have no worries with salt.

[-none]

8. Wrong. Very wrong.

Some people have a problem with the sodium in sodium chloride pulling the calcium out of their bones. A simple chemical reaction. This is not osteoporosis.
For normal people, the body has a way counter act this. Some people don't and they need to be on superscribed doses of Potassium Citrate.
There are also other problems with high salt intake disrupting bodily functions. High blood pressure is just the most well know problem. Too much salt is killing people and they don't even know it until it is too late.

[Major Nikon]

10. Just because you don't agree, doesn't mean I'm wrong

Remembering that can often save unnecessary embarrassment.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/its-time-to-end-the-war-on-salt/

[-none]

11. There is more to the problems with too much salt than just high blood pressure.

That is just the most well known.

[Major Nikon]

12. That you are stating this as factual is very telling

Just like when you claim those who disagree with you are wrong.

The evidence for what you are claiming is fact is even less than the association between high salt intakes and hypertension. The FDA is not even mentioning any of the claims you think are facts. That alone should be telling you something.

[bemildred]

5. Salt hides the fact that factory food tastes lousy.

Salt is an necessary nutrient, like water, or air, you need it to work right. Limiting your salt too much is bad for you. The problem is food manufacturers add too much to cover the lousy taste of "pre-cooked" food.

[Major Nikon]

13. The very best chefs in the world also add salt routinely to most dishes

They also often do so in copious quantities.

Salt enhances other flavors which is one reason it's used. It also is an important element in the chemistry of certain things. For instance, salt used in breadmaking does a number of things like aiding in gluten development, regulating fermentation, and keeping bread from going stale as fast.