Worse: Sugar or Salt?

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 ... I found a converter to figure rough volume for table salt. According to that 6 grams is roughly equal to .35 Tablespoon or 1.05 teaspoon. That is a picture I can understand. THe curious question is why when people are cautioned on too much sodium, the story is not presented in total salt volume? Most folks are clueless about sodium and chloride ratios in tablesalt. I know I was until read the previously quoted discussion and EastWestGal's description. ...

Good example that I might even remember -- 1 teaspoon of salt is the max. I guess the emphasis on "sodium" is because that is what is on labeled packages (not salt equivalents).

But when I lightly salt my food I would never be putting anything like 1 teaspoon on the food even in all 3 daily meals. But there is all those sodium atoms added in prep and naturally occurring I guess. For instance, I've been putting some salted mixed nuts in my morning cereal, only a small amount though.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister ... Table sugar (sucrose) is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. ...

So what is a good substitute for one's coffee? Brown sugar? Honey?

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal So what is a good substitute for one's coffee? Brown sugar? Honey?

Don't get trapped into the good sugar/bad sugar game. Use whatever you like (personally, I put Splenda in my coffee).

Honey is essentially the same kind of sugar as table sugar (glucose and fructose in equal parts). Brown sugar is usually just table sugar with molasses added.

[Lsbcal]

Thanks, I'll probably stick with the moderate amount of white sugar I use. I'm not in any high risk group as I eat very moderate healthy stuff and am not overweight and exercise like a fiend.

[UtahSkier]

>> So there really isn't a big different between sugar and HFCS.

That's why I specifically differentiate sugar, glucose, fructose and lactose (common dietary sugars).

Its also why I avoid sugar and HFCS.

What's interesting is the fructose in HFCS is made from glucose... specifically to create a sweetener with a better insulin response. In some respects, HFCS is healthier than table sugar. Sweeter and small insulin spike. Somewhat better for people with diabetes and obesity problems.

But, fructose is a bad player because of CVD. So, I have learned to live without the sugar of any kind. For instance, My chocolate bar is the 100% cocoa Ghiradeli baking bar. I have a 1/4 bar every day. 100% cocoa and all fat. Recommended!

[Lsbcal]

I think I can feel excess sugar in my body as I eat the stuff in chocolates and other sweets. At some point I just don't want any more. Usually I can stop.

[UtahSkier]

>> So what is a good substitute for one's coffee? Brown sugar? Honey?

Espresso... Straight up!

If you must add something, try fat. Half and Half or heavy cream might work. It will work once you adapt to it.

Honey and agave are like HFCS with 55% fructose. Brown Sugar is just less processed but still 50-50 like table sugar.

Glucose is a sweetener... Its just not very sweet, so you need a lot of it.

[UtahSkier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal Thanks, I'll probably stick with the moderate amount of white sugar I use. I'm not in any high risk group as I eat very moderate healthy stuff and am not overweight and exercise like a fiend.

The common metrics used today are pretty useless. Total cholesterol is meaningless. LDL and HDL are also not useful predictors for CVD.

The best info available today involves APO-B and the LDL composition. Just as Total Cholesterol is composed of TG, LDL and HDL, it turns out that LDL is composed of SD-LDL and Large Buoyant LDL.

SD-LDL is the bad actor here and yes, its presence(quantity) is influenced by fructose.

My brother is like you... not in a risk group, is an exercise fiend and is very fit. But he eats a lot of sugar and has been watching the plaque grow in his arteries for several years.

He has cut back on the sugar consumption and seen improvements in his lipid profile, but he just cannot reduce his sugar consumption to where it needs to be.

[pullmyfinger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal Good example that I might even remember -- 1 teaspoon of salt is the max. I guess the emphasis on "sodium" is because that is what is on labeled packages (not salt equivalents). But when I lightly salt my food I would never be putting anything like 1 teaspoon on the food even in all 3 daily meals. But there is all those sodium atoms added in prep and naturally occurring I guess. For instance, I've been putting some salted mixed nuts in my morning cereal, only a small amount though.

I got to the point that I was putting 1/2 tsp salt each morning in my oats! I just kept adding more as my palate got used to it. I no longer add salt but use ground white pepper which seems to do the trick for me. I also add spices to pretty much everything. It is amazing how fast you get accustomed to salt and need more.

[nash031]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal So what is a good substitute for one's coffee? Brown sugar? Honey?

Heavy whipping cream, hold the sugar!

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 o why are we not advise to eat six grams of salt a day? I have no idea.

I can tell you, and it is very simple. It is thought that the sodium ion, not the chloride ion is the miscreant in high BP, congestive heart failure, etc. There are sources of sodium other than salt in the diet-MSG, baking soda, etc.

Also, every processed food in the united states has a label which states how much sodium is in the product, per ounce or cup or whatever. So if a person can read and use a calculator or do simple arithmetic, they can control their sodium intake.

It has become very fashionable among "alternative" medical purveyors to recommend lots of salt, and there are certainly situations where this is important, and people to whom this advice is perhaps good or at least not harmful. But years of research and clinical experience have shown that overall, in large populations, blood pressure is proportional to sodium intake. If your grandma has a bit of congestive heart failure, eating a dill pickle or a ham sandwich can put her right back in the ER muy pronto.

Ha

[ls99]

Thanks for the comment, Ha.

Continuing with my curiosity of salt and the ingredients of it, particularly interested in how much is metabolized and how much is retained, did some more internet chasing and found the following:

During a Russian study of diet for a Martian mission simulation, where salt intake is highly controlled by the pre packaged food system, they found that the sodium component is stored, seemingly much of it in the skin. AND how much of it is dumped in urine.

The most interesting finding is that sodium levels in the body are cycling on a 7 day and monthly schedule. Thus debunking the conventional long held science of sodium levels in the body are directly related to salt and or sodium intake on a daily bases.

Martian metabolism: The rise and fall of salt - Ezine - spectroscopyNOW.com

"
Titze and his colleagues organized the food for the mission, which would all be consumed and collected their urine each day. The team studied twelve men: six for the full 105-day phase of the program, and six for the first 205 days of the 520-day phase.
"It was the participants’ stamina to precisely adhere to the daily menu plans and to accurately collect their urine for months that allowed scientific discovery," Titze explains. This allowed them to reveal that 95 percent of the ingested salt was excreted in the urine, but not on a daily basis. Instead, at constant salt intake, sodium excretion fluctuated with a weekly rhythm, resulting in sodium storage. The levels of the hormones aldosterone (a regulator of sodium excretion) and cortisol (no known major role in sodium balance but a well-known stress hormone) also fluctuated weekly."

"Cyclic sodium

Titze and colleagues also found that total body sodium levels fluctuated on monthly and longer cycles, with this longer-term storage process seemingly independent of salt intake and not linked to weight gain that would be associated with water retention. The results have one rather immediate implication for medical research and diagnostics: they suggest that current medical practice, which utilises 24-hour urine samples to determine salt intake, might paint a wholly inaccurate picture of a person's salt balance.
"We understand now that there are 7-day and monthly sodium clocks that are ticking, so a one-day snapshot shouldn't be used to determine salt intake," Titze asserts. The team suspects that the same genes that control our circadian rhythms, the so-called body clock may also underpin the sodium storage and release cycles. "We find these long rhythms of sodium storage in the body particularly intriguing," Titze explains. "The observations open up entirely new avenues for research." "

Edit Add: The other interesting bit, though not expressed in this research, is that most likely all function of the body are controlled by hormones. So my wild a$$ guess is that in case hormones are haywire, everything else will be off kilter. Now onto the magic of endocrinology. But I am too old to start medical school now

[David1961]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal So what is a good substitute for one's coffee? Brown sugar? Honey?

I have heard that stevia is the lesser of the evils when it comes to sweeteners. But there is no universal agreement. I try to limit the amount of all kinds of sweeteners.

[ls99]

Another bit of info on salt. I do not have subscription so only abstract is read.

From Long Term Space Flight Simulation.
"
Highlights

• Increased salt intake lowers urinary aldosterone but increases cortisol excretion
• At constant salt intake, urinary Na+ excretion exhibits a circaseptan pattern
• Total body Na+ exhibits a far-longer infradian rhythm, not related to body water
• Na+ can be stored in the body independent of water or blood pressure

http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/...2812%2900491-3

[Chuckanut]

Stop arguing. It seems that in Nigeria they saved many Ebola victims by giving them a hydration solution made up of salt and sugar. Apparently, their success rate was about two out of three victims. Not bad. Nigeria has now been declared Ebola free.

Quote:

Water laced with salt and sugar, and gallons of the nasty-tasting stuff. Doctors who survived Ebola in Nigeria credited heavy doses of fluids with saving their lives as the World Health Organization declared the country Ebola-free Monday, Hydration helps Nigeria beat Ebola outbreak | Dallas Morning News

[braumeister]

Sure, why not? I use a solution of both salt and sugar (and spices) when I brine a turkey. Great combination!