AMA says Salt is not safe

Over the last ten years I have had many people come into the store asking about sodium free foods. This mostly happens when a person is diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) and their doctor tells them to stop eating salt. The doctor is half right. Before I explain why the doctor is half right, I want you to read what the AMA has said about salt.

The American Medical Association said last week that salt should not be "generally recognized as safe" and has urged the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its GRAS status and to develop safe upper limits for sodium in processed and restaurant foods.

"Cardiovascular disease remains the No. 1 killer of Americans," said Dr. J. James Rohack, a cardiologist and AMA board member. CVD accounts for about 40 percent of all U.S. deaths. "There is overwhelming evidence that excessive sodium intake is a risk factor for the development or worsening of hypertension, and may be an independent risk factor for other CVDs," such as aortic stiffness, according to a report by the AMA. In 2006, CVD costs are expected to reach a heart-stopping $400 billion in the United States.
The AMA issued new guidelines at its annual meeting, calling for a 50 percent reduction over the next 10 years in the amount of sodium in processed foods, fast foods and restaurant meals.

"Despite the recommendations of leading scientific authorities and government agencies … manufacturers can add substantial amounts of sodium to processed foods," the report said. "Revoking the GRAS status would not ban salt, but require industry to petition the FDA to approve the use of salt as a food additive at specified levels in various types of food, and would establish a process and procedures for establishing and regulating these amounts."

The medical group also called for improved labeling to highlight the amount of sodium in processed foods.
According to the AMA, Americans consume an average 4,000 mg of sodium daily, and about 75 percent of that comes from processed foods and foods eaten away from home. Numerous governments and scientific groups recommend limiting salt intake to 2,300 mg. More than 95 percent of American men and 75 percent of American women regularly consume more than that, the group said.

The AMA and the individual doctor as I said previously are half right in their accessment that excess sodium is one of the causes of hypertension. The extact cause of hypertension in this instance is the imbalance of the sodium/potassium ratio in your body. We need about 4700 mg of potassium everyday. Our kidneys recycle potassium back into the body. When consume too much sodium and not enough potassium we unbalance the body. The paragraph below was taken form the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension website on the role of potassium in the body:

"Potassium works with sodium to maintain the body's water balance. One possible explanation for potassium's protective effect against hypertension is that increased potassium may increase the amount of sodium excreted from the body. "

Potassium is easily obtained in most foods we eat like milk, meats, fruits and vegetables. The problem is when we eat excessive amounts of processed foods that use sodium as the main seasoning. The problem with trying to eat your way out of high blood pressure is you cannot absorb enough potassium fast enough to correct the imbalance. This is where potassium supplements are useful. One of the best is Potassium Aporotates form Solaray. It is easily absorbable even on an empty stomach.

I hope you see that you need to not only reduce the sodium in your diet, but you need to increase the potassium as well.

Thanks for spending a part of your day here with me,

James