Sodium Skeptics Try to Shake Up the Salt Debate

What about the studies that show a “u-shaped curve,” where too much sodium is bad, but too little may be bad too?



This video is part of my extended deep-dive series on sodium, with lots more to come. Here are the ones I put up so far:

For more on how industry influence can distort nutritional science, see:

Image Credit: JD Hancock via Flickr.

[ononono]

My mother had a stroke in her low fifties, despite having low blood pressure, not drinking, not smoking, 23 BMI and being relatively healthy. Doctor's told her that they didn't know why and that it probably ran in the family. Now that I don't live at home anymore, every time I visit I try to avoid her food. Everything is drowning in fat and is disgustingly salty. When my mother gives me a takeout, I often wash it, trying to get rid of the fat and salt but I can't.
I am trying to convince her to be healthier. Eating less than a teaspoon of salt a day, only coating the pan with oil instead of having the food swim in oil but she doesn't listen and still fears another stroke as if she can't do anything to prevent it.
She also always complains about headaches but refuses to drink more than a liter of water a day or go to bed before midnight and only sleeping till 6 am.
It's depressing to see people that don't want to change...

[veg]

the people who get money for telling wrong things have no conscience

[FamilyFizz]

Another amazing video...👍 thank you so much for all your hard work putting these videos together. We are both really looking forward to meeting you in London this April! - Georgie ☺

[rachelmist]

First of all Id like to mention that I think your channel is wonderful, informative and objective. Second i would like to comment specifically about this video. Before i begin A little ramble I would like to point out that everything in this video is correct, however like most things there are two sides to every story. I my case, I have always been a vegetarian from birth, im 32 years old and have continued to be health conscious all my life. I lived in the uk for most of my life and recently moved to australia where I have discovered even more health benefits. However, being so health conscious, through no fault of my own I effectively took it too far, let me explain. we i was a young teenager, I took notice of everything that the uk government and doctor said about having a low salt diet and how important it was to do so. So i followed instruction and had a low salt diet, continued to eat very well and have plenty and I mean plenty of water (which I had also seen an advert on the tv about, must have at least 2 litres of water a day). This combination over many years actually caused severe health problems for me. I was not receiving enough alkaline minerals in my diet and therefore my body was becoming more and more acidic. Now what I didn't know what that the body needs sodium as on of your electrolytes to exchange water in and out of your cells in exchange for potassium. Now i'm not a scientist or a nutritionist, but I have done alot of research into why I became sick and one of the reasons was lack of salt, my sodium was too low. I have also used myself as a guinea pig as it were to experient with my diet and sodium in take and I have essentially healed myself. I had pre diabetes, candida overgrowth, severe fainting spells, bone pain, head aches, no energy and severe depression. and over two years from when I found out about my lack of sodium and low blood pressure, which was checked by a qualified doctor, I have improved significantly. Most of my symptoms are gone, but I still have a way to go and continue with this change in diet and lifestyle. So anyway, the point im trying to make is, to any one who is reading this, go and get your blood pressure checked regardless of your age. I suffer with very low blood pressure and I have had to make some life style changes, ie increasing my salt intake. I have been told by many doctors and naturopaths that im a rare case, however, there are many more like me. So before you decide to reduce your salt intake, visit your local chemist or doctor and get your blood pressure checked, its normally free and takes 5 minutes. And one finally note, please do your own research into this, but salt isn't bad, I'm living proof and to begin with I honestly couldn't believe it either. its the amount of salt your consume and the type of salt you consume that is bad. I hope this helps someone.

[ideoformsun]

I restricted salt for a year and started having fainting spells. I had to add back a bit of salt and the fainting went away. I have low blood pressure.
I avoid salt that has the free-running agents in it, like Sodium ferrocyanide, or Yellow Prussiate of Soda, which has cyanide in it. Be sure to read the labels!
I take two drops of half-strength Lugols Iodine daily for my thyroid. Sea vegetables have Iodine.
Salt is an electrolyte and part of a balance we need of potassium, and magnesium. We are electrical beings. Our body's work like batteries. We just need the right amount and no more. Excess salt needs to be filtered out by our kidneys. Just like excess refined sugar. Processed foods eaten constantly puts pressure on our kidneys and liver and pancreas.

The thing is, salt in high concentrations works as a preservative. So it is added to a lot of packaged foods and is used in fast foods for that reason. And whenever we dry a food we concentrate the salt in it. So we end up eating way more salt just for convenience sake and "shelf life."

Long Shelf life means old, dead, food.

Preserved foods are great for emergency rations, but were never good as a long term diet. It's like we are all eating rations like sailors on a ship at sea, when there is fresh food available right outside our door. We are all eating kibble, like rats in a cage. The cage door is open, and we don't even notice.

[JosephNJ]

Speaking of sodium, canned soup! My God, even the "lower sodium" brands have enough salt to melt ice on a frozen walkway. I seen some as high as 850 mg./ serving, and there's 2 servings in just one can! Yeah I know, make your own soup. But who doesn't have at least some pantry food as a just in case?

[LoveSarahJean]

Geez, the food industry is beyond corrupt!

[alexandercranford]

I had attacks of Menieres in my teen years, twenties and thirties.One bad attack in 2003 my GP said my blood pressure was to low. After that I increased my salt intake. I have only had mild attacks that have lasted one night. All blood pressure tests have come back as normal. 10% of the adult population had hypo-tension.

[Melanie____]

We will all face a moment where lack of integrity is a very tempting option. We need to do all it takes to do what is right. It’s worth it.
Honesty, integrity and transparency always wins.

[EijiFuller]

Goining whole foods vegan was enough to lower my BP to 104/60 without lowering my salt intake. I actually add sea salt(1 tsp/gal) to my filtered water to replace electrolytes from sweating during exercise. Since I started doing that I stopped cramping on long runs and prolonged workouts. This anti salt thing is ridiculous.

[OuttaHere]

Just found the answer in, "How Not to Die" by Dr. Greger. Best source is Nori seaweed using 2 sheets per day which equates to the recommended 150mcg. (p409 in kindle edition). However, the Nori sheets are about 8" X 8". i think I'd rather take a vitamin pill every day...

[scootercrossking]

Great info Doc, loving the audiobook by the way!

[olivialoveworthy]

Thank you, Dr. Greger... We love you!

[datguy]

This entire video can be proven to be either extremely disingenuous or plain ignorant by the following:

The Japanese study you highlighted dropped from 18g of salt to 14g of salt daily, or from 7, 200mg of sodium down to 5, 600mg. Not exactly a low sodium diet, and obviously going from excessively high amounts to a lower extreme is going to cause a beneficial effect.

The Finland study measured salt EXCRETION, not intake. Numerous factors cause the kidneys to become salt wasting including stimulants, diuretics, a vast amount of pharmaceuticals, stress, being elderly, cancer, kidney problems, diabetes, liver problems, bowel problems, etc. None of which are indicative of health, but more importantly limit the conclusions one could draw from this study.

Followed immediately by a strawman/appeal to common sense via the smoking analogy. Not an argument, not science, and indicative of a personal belief rather than chasing facts - especially since you've preached and no doubt practiced a low sodium diet for years.

TOHP study: no indication of sodium intake. Cutting 25% off of 5, 000mg+ is significantly different than cutting 25% off of 3, 000mg.

CDC did a study in 2014 that showed "no benefits of reducing sodium below 2, 300mg per day", yet that's still the FDA's upper limit.

You continually hint that there's some "big salt/food" industry behind this, yet health conscious people - aka most people - find "low sodium" to be more appealing because they know it's "good" for them. Ironically, the biggest industry to gain from this misinformation - if you want to make it out to be some grand conspiracy - is actually pharmaceutical companies.

The incidence of fatal cardiac events actually sharply increases the further below ~3, 000mg of sodium, and you have a significantly higher risk of dying from a cardiac event eating 2, 000mg of sodium daily (worse with less) than eating even up to 12, 000mg daily...

Our body has no defense mechanism against insufficient sodium other than increasing insulin levels to cause the kidneys to retain salt. Ironically this process also causes aldosterone and norepinephrine levels to rise dramatically, lowering blood volume, drastically increasing heart rate due to the lowered blood volume and norepinephrine, and causes a cascade of detrimental health effects, including increased insulin resistance.

Sodium deficiency can cause nearly anything bad: liver problems, GI problems, acid reflux/GERD (caused by insufficient stomach acid because you can't make hydrochloric acid without the chloride from salt...), fatigue, dizziness, ARRYTHMIAS, high blood pressure (from huge amounts of aldosterone), increased resting heart rate (which can lead to an enlarged heart), insulin resistance (body's defense mechanism is to increase insulin to cause sodium retention in the kidneys to not run out), shunting of blood from extremities, etc, etc.

Guess who sells the cure for all of those? But no, blame the big evil food companies... Is every problem caused by a salt deficiency? Absolutely not, but the risks of not getting enough without a doubt outweigh the consequences of not enough. Salt to taste, eat plenty of produce for potassium, and cut sugar (but not fruit) and sodium wouldn't even be debated...

[maria_holistic_approach]

love this channel!! i would like to know How many plant protein is too many....i eat beans and chickpeas every day but is there any limit? i dont consume any other form of protein as soy products....but i crave beans every day..

[nomoremusic-sp]

Thank you, for all your information on this channel...you are doing amazing work! No other source is as this evidence based and unbiased.

[KungFuChess]

Salt in itself isnt bad if its sea salt. These studies dont control for deficiencies of other minerals like potassium and magnesium. Especially magnesium. you need these minerals to regulate sodium and since most people are mineral deficient, it makes sense that salt would be harmful to these people just like too much calcium can be harmful if not regulated by magnesium.

[random]

What about people with hypotension (too low blood pressure)? There are studies recommending up to 20g salt a day! Not everybody is the same. I always recommend also to look at your individual situation not just trying to accommodate to the average of 10000 people...

[Guccituccixo]

Thank you for this video!! Some stellar investigative skills at work here

[blinky]

Hi Dr Greger
Could you please speak about sea salt, and/or Himalayan Pink salt. Is there a difference between these salts from regular table salt? I have been eating clean I just have been getting tired of not having any taste. It was fine for awhile.. Plus doesn't the body need salt in order to survive, or workout? I have been on an all potato diet, and it helps me to lose weight. But finding ways of trying to eat it without salt is getting monotonous. Thanks!