West Hollywood, California (April 26, 2010) – Newspaper headlines are reporting that the US Government Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering mandating national standards for the sodium content of foods. 
Michael Mooney writes on health issues, focusing on research and access. WeHo News. |
The FDA is long overdue in addressing this as we have known for many years that high salt intake is associated with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and strokes.
Yet Kristin Bibbins-Domingo and colleagues, from University of California-San Francisco published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine in January, 2010, that estimated that reducing salt intake for American adults aged 35 and 84 years by only one third could prevent 32,000 strokes and 54,000 heart attacks a year.
The Institute of Medicine estimates that nationwide reductions in salt intake could prevent more than 100,000 deaths annually, so this is important.
Whoa! All those fun foods that are so salty will taste bland if this happens, right?
“Salt and Vinegar” potato chips, hamburgers, beef, veggie chips, organic corn chips. All of them are going to turn to cardboard before our eyes and mouths.
I’m reading the articles about this radical change in America’s culinary habits thinking, “Why are they missing the boat on this one? There’s an easy solution to this problem and it doesn’t mean you can’t salt your foods and still have enough of that wonderful salty taste.” <
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Photo by WeHo News. |
In fact, there’s a way to salt your food and LOWER your blood pressure while reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and strokes. And it’s right there on the shelves of every major grocery store in the country AND it tastes exactly like regular salt.
Well, maybe Wolfgang Puck can tell the difference, but I can’t.
Several studies confirm that replacing table salt, which is sodium chloride, with salt made of potassium chloride can help to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and strokes. The product name is NO SALT®.
It’s made out of potassium chloride, instead of sodium chloride, comes in a shaker and looks exactly like any table salt. There are two other products like it, AlsoSalt® and NuSalt®, but I didn’t find them easily at Pavilions or any other major grocer near the hood, so I have NO SALT® in my kitchen and I love it.
Rather than gingerly put a little sodium salt on my favorite foods, I salt them to taste, knowing that the potassium salt I’m about to eat is great for my cardiovascular health and other aspects of my long-term health.
Potassium is even talked about in anti-aging medical circles as one of the nutrients that is good for skin so we’ll have less wrinkles. Potassium is also required for building muscles. Now those are some nice added pluses.
NO SALT® has many health-related benefits. WeHo News. |
In the interest of prudence, there are caveats attached to switching to potassium salt, just to be super careful. People with kidney failure, heart failure or diabetes should not use salt substitutes without your doctor’s approval. People taking the following prescription drugs should not use a salt substitute, unless your doctor tells you it’s alright: potassium-sparing diuretics, such as spironolactone, triamterene, or amiloride, Dytac, Captopril and other angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, Eplerenone and Inspra.
You also don’t want to take crazy amounts, like whole teaspoons of potassium salt at a time. Huge amounts of potassium have been known to stop the heart, as shown by Dr. Jack Kevorkian.
While the Institute of Medicine said in 2004 that the RDA for potassium is 4,000 mg (one level teaspoon), most people only get a couple thousand milligrams from a normal diet, with some nutritionists recommending 5,000 mg a day for optimal health.
Adding shakes of NO SALT® to foods will give you an extra few dozen milligrams, so salting foods to taste shouldn’t cause normally healthy people any problem. Rather, you should be healthier.
WeHo News. |
However, although it is a rare occurrence, there is such a thing as too much potassium, which can cause the muscles and nerves to malfunction, leading to problems like irregular heartbeat.
Other symptoms of too much potassium are stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, gastrointestinal bleeding, muscle spasms, irritability, fatigue, uneven pulse and even heart failure.
It can also cause the skin on the hands, feet and tongue to tingle with a "pins and needles" sensation.
These are the “be careful” issues that should be noted, but really, most people using potassium salt to flavor foods will just be healthier -- and happier. I love NO SALT®.
Now run on down to Pavilions, or any big grocery store and buy some NO SALT® and toss out the sodium chloride salt in your kitchen today. You’ll be glad you did!
Mr. Mooney, age 56, has written for numerous publications about exercise, diet, and the progressive use of dietary supplements. He co-authored a book about complementary medical options, such as nutritional and hormonal intervention for people living with HIV, called " Built To Survive." He has a website on which he provides a bounty of health and fitness tips at Michael Mooney dot net.
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