Salt intake

Buck Bailey

Active member
For years we were told to lower our salt intake, mostly due to BP concerns. Now I notice some companies advertising 'health' drinks on TV? one of them even says at the end .... "Stay salty my friend"

Why the change?
 
Some doctors and researchers point out that salt intake isn't a universal trigger for high blood pressure. The effect of sodium varies widely due to genetic differences in "salt sensitivity", and some studies suggest other factors like chronic stress, aldosterone hormones, and arterial stiffness are stronger drivers of hypertension.
Personally, I don't think salt intake has anything to do with blood pressure - much like cholesterol & heart disease.
That's why medical advice is constantly changing.
 
@Don Alaska - were you a nurse or doctor at one time?
I have never been a big salt person,and not sure why my Bp is always so high even on drugs. On occasion it is very low.
I do have triglyceride issue..always high. So suppose to cut way back on sweets and etc. It's odd to me that even that is issue for me, as I strive to eat in moderation of anything.
HOWEVER, hubby and his cookie and ice cream making has not helped at all. I try not to eat any and Lord knows he does not need either, but he eats it anyway. I give up. :oops:
 
@Don Alaska - were you a nurse or doctor at one time?
I have never been a big salt person,and not sure why my Bp is always so high even on drugs. On occasion it is very low.
I do have triglyceride issue..always high. So suppose to cut way back on sweets and etc. It's odd to me that even that is issue for me, as I strive to eat in moderation of anything.
HOWEVER, hubby and his cookie and ice cream making has not helped at all. I try not to eat any and Lord knows he does not need either, but he eats it anyway. I give up. :oops:
@Hedi Mitchell, I'm not siding with anyone :) But I look at it this way, If we give up all things we enjoy, that's when we die. I don't recommend jumping in front of speeding trains, but the rest is up to the individual.

I try to not overdo anything, but if like it I eat it/drink it. I used to be pretty much sold on working out/exercise, but anymore @ 77 I just don't seem to muster up the energy, nor find the enthusiasm, so ?? I recently bought a Tai Chi chart, but damn I just can't get into it.
 
@Don Alaska - were you a nurse or doctor at one time?
I have never been a big salt person,and not sure why my Bp is always so high even on drugs. On occasion it is very low.
I do have triglyceride issue..always high. So suppose to cut way back on sweets and etc. It's odd to me that even that is issue for me, as I strive to eat in moderation of anything.
HOWEVER, hubby and his cookie and ice cream making has not helped at all. I try not to eat any and Lord knows he does not need either, but he eats it anyway. I give up. :oops:
At some point you have to enjoy life. Our fridge looked like a diet commercial for years. SO was constantly hungry. Stomach growling hungry.
Do you need sweets or can you adjust? I bake cinni apple rolls with very little sugar.
 
I posted on the old SOC about a female scientist working on the Eve Project (the effort to track humankind to a single female) who said, "Men were designed for a short brutal life, and women were designed for a long miserable one." I thought it was interesting that she used the word designed in her comment. I think that is something of the choices we make; giving up everything that makes life enjoyable in order to live a few (less enjoyable) years is a choice that perhaps can be made, but as you know medical guidance is often incorrect.
 
I posted on the old SOC about a female scientist working on the Eve Project (the effort to track humankind to a single female) who said, "Men were designed for a short brutal life, and women were designed for a long miserable one." I thought it was interesting that she used the word designed in her comment. I think that is something of the choices we make; giving up everything that makes life enjoyable in order to live a few (less enjoyable) years is a choice that perhaps can be made, but as you know medical guidance is often incorrect.
Isn’t there an old doctor joke along the line of give up beer, women and smoke and you will live to be a hundred. Doc, you call that living?
 
Let me Google that for you. :D

Is Himalayan salt better for you than regular table salt?

Google says: "The trace minerals in Himalayan salt are too small to impact human health, meaning neither is significantly healthier than the other. You can review a deeper breakdown on Healthline."

AI says: "No, Himalayan salt is not significantly healthier than regular salt. Both types are made up of about 98% to 99% sodium chloride and affect your body and blood pressure in the exact same way."
 
It's pink, so it makes you feel in the pink. :giggle:
As I do not do pastels - bah:) I found $15 Amazon pink salt at the Dollar Tree when it was 1$. Turned it into little gift bags of kitchen towels, spatulas, … .
I am into specialty salts. They are basically salt but the crystals are different and often their origin leaves a taste behind. Mumsy brought a grocery sack of sea salt she raked up at a saline pit on a Portuguese beach. Grey, coarse, tasted of ocean and more.
 
For years we were told to lower our salt intake, mostly due to BP concerns. Now I notice some companies advertising 'health' drinks on TV? one of them even says at the end .... "Stay salty my friend"

Why the change?
Most 'experts' don't have a clue. Doctors are 'educated' by pharmaceutical companies. Remember the food pyramid of the 60's? That was how we were to eat. But now, NO it was all wrong.
Cut out fats!!! until now we need fats. Coffee is bad! But now it is good. Salt is ok when balanced with potassium. But do you know the balance?
I happen to believe that sugar is a culprit in inflammation (which damages blood vessels and organs) and I think everyone eats more of it than we should. Thus the insane amount of diabetes and pre diabetes in recent decades. And what the food industry has done to our grains and flour and thus cereals and snacks is a major source of our health issues. What chemicals they have added to foods to lengthen shelf life are dangerous.
Age and genetics determines how our bodies react.
 
Because the grains in himalayan salt are courser than table salt you get less sodium by volume. Himalayan salt has a lot of important trace minerals. And most importantly it just tastes better ;)
 
I happen to believe that sugar is a culprit in inflammation (which damages blood vessels and organs) and I think everyone eats more of it than we should. Thus the insane amount of diabetes and pre diabetes in recent decades.

I agree that too much sugar is a bad thing. But I believe the main reason for the insane number of diabetes and pre-diabetes diagnoses are a simple matter of the ADA changing to A1C for diagnosis in 2010. VOILA'! Overnight a few million more big pharma customers, because 'they' said so.
 
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I agree that too much sugar is a bad thing. But I believe the main reason for the insane number of diabetes and pre-diabetes diagnoses are a simple matter of the ADA changing to A1C for diagnosis. VOILA'! Overnight a few million more big pharma customers, because 'they' said so.
Same with BP. Both A1c & blood pressure go up with age. A few doctors acknowledge that the standards for "Normal" should be age adjusted. most don't. A friend of mine (84 yrs old at the time) his doctor put him on Metformin because one fasting glucose was 125 & his doctor said "We must get it under 100 to keep you healthy." I suggested he get other opinions & I also said several fasting tests should be taken before diagnosing diabetes in someone your age. The drug made him sick & he had to be hospitalized. He saw another doctor who told him, "You're fine; at your age, lowering blood sugar leads to passing out & falls with no benefit. He's now 94.
 
Most 'experts' don't have a clue. Doctors are 'educated' by pharmaceutical companies. Remember the food pyramid of the 60's? That was how we were to eat. But now, NO it was all wrong.
Cut out fats!!! until now we need fats. Coffee is bad! But now it is good. Salt is ok when balanced with potassium. But do you know the balance?
I happen to believe that sugar is a culprit in inflammation (which damages blood vessels and organs) and I think everyone eats more of it than we should. Thus the insane amount of diabetes and pre diabetes in recent decades. And what the food industry has done to our grains and flour and thus cereals and snacks is a major source of our health issues. What chemicals they have added to foods to lengthen shelf life are dangerous.
Age and genetics determines how our bodies react.
Indeed, look at the reversal in vitamin "D" from the sun. We used to soak it up, now sunblock is the new best thing, and staying out of direct sunlight, hats long sleeves etc. & so-on.
 
Same with BP. Both A1c & blood pressure go up with age. A few doctors acknowledge that the standards for "Normal" should be age adjusted. most don't. A friend of mine (84 yrs old at the time) his doctor put him on Metformin because one fasting glucose was 125 & his doctor said "We must get it under 100 to keep you healthy." I suggested he get other opinions & I also said several fasting tests should be taken before diagnosing diabetes in someone your age. The drug made him sick & he had to be hospitalized. He saw another doctor who told him, "You're fine; at your age, lowering blood sugar leads to passing out & falls with no benefit. He's now 94.
They also lowered the high bp numbers to sell more sanctioned drugs. But when I asked about Co Q 10 of hubby's nurse cardiac practitioner, which is important for those on statins, she glared at me and said they do not prescribe drugs not sanctioned by the FDA. I bit my tongue at most visits. I did not speak my mind to her in previous visits... So i had not bothered her to deserve glaring.
 
Indeed, look at the reversal in vitamin "D" from the sun. We used to soak it up, now sunblock is the new best thing, and staying out of direct sunlight, hats long sleeves etc. & so-on.
And they once said taaking a 10,000 unit supplement would kill you. Now there are prescription varieties that are 5 times that with no issues.
 
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