For those of us with sodium-sensitive hypertension or prehypertension, salt and other sodium ion sources are worse, as long as the sugar intake is moderate. It's not really an either/or proposition, of course.
Sugar and other common dietary sources of excess carbohydrates can be as bad for a prediabetic person, or someone with a family history of diabetes. Diets high in salt, like diets high in sugar, are likely to have a significant portion of daily food consumption from highly processed foods, which tend to have a somewhat different composition than the diet our ancestors have enjoyed for hundreds of generations.
We do need salt or other sodium ion sources in our diet. Somewhere around 500-700 mg daily sodium intake is needed. Curiously, that happens to be about what a Neolithic diet that our ancestors were on for hundreds of generations would supply.
The recommended upper limit for intake of sodium for older persons, African-Americans, and those with high blood pressure is two to three times the Neolithic diet quantity, or about 1,500 mg daily. For the general population, the recommended upper limit is around four times the Neolithic diet quantity at 2,300 mg daily.
The quantity of sodium found in processed foods has risen since the 1970s, and the daily intake of processed foods has also risen, to bring the average American (age 2 and older) daily sodium intake to 3,436 mg daily, roughly six times the Neolithic diet level.
It's not just salt that contributes sodium, either. A scone doesn't have very much salt, but the baking powder content, which includes sodium bicarbonate, is enough to put at nice bakery scone at 700 mg sodium.
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
- Baking soda (also called sodium bicarbonate)
- Baking powder
- Disodium phosphate
- Sodium alginate
- Sodium citrate
- Sodium nitrite
Most sodium intake in the American diet does NOT come from table salt. It's in various processed foods. One bagel may contain 400 mg. A bowl of healthy instant oatmeal? 225 mg. At least the low-fat yogurt was only 50 mg.
That lunchtime sandwich? Two slices of commercial bakery bread add 360 mg. Mustard? One teaspoon of yellow mustard is 70 mg, or if you prefer dejon, 160 mg. That slice of cheese? One ounce at 180 mg. The tomato and lettuce are free. The dill pickle is 385 mg.
A single serving of good ravioli (5 pieces) might be 500 mg. Oh, and another 350 in the half-cup of marinara (red) sauce. (Tell the truth. Would you really limit dinner to 5 pieces of ravioli and a half cup of sauce?) A tablespoon of parmesan cheese on top? Add 75 mg. Garlic bread? Maybe a nice slice, just to get all the sauce, eh? 250 mg.
That's 2845 mg of sodium, without a single snack or dessert, or using the salt shaker. Now, if you had properly salted the pasta water...
CDC Data & Statistics | Feature: Americans Consume Too Much Sodium (Salt)
For me, personally, cutting the sodium intake below 1,500 mg/day has dropped my BP from 130/90 to 105/75 (average evening reading, past 7 days). There have been no other changes. Same exercise routine as I've kept the past 7 years, same weight for two years. I did get a haircut...