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Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds

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Re: Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds

#11

Post by rdtsc »

higherpurpose wrote: post #2

We're finding out that fat [1] isn't actually bad for you, now salt, too. I wonder if we'll find out sugar is good for us, too, before long. [1] http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405270230367840...

There was actually a study done a while back looking if sugar causes "hyperactivity" in children. You know your typical cliché "kids ate cake, and now they are so hyper running around".

And I believe they found that sugar does not cause hyperactivity, but somehow discovered that it helped either remember events better or learn new things.

Now looking back I think I had experienced that myself -- I remember my mom made some strawberry jam and I was eating it with a spoon for whatever reason, and it was while studying for a final oral exam in history (this is a different country, were we had to memorize and answer all 50 or so questions and then we'd be questioned on it orally by student). Anyway that one instance, out of many instances in years before before and after, I was remembering and at much higher rate. At least high enough to be noticeable to me.

Seeing the study years later kind of confirmed it.

Re: Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds

#12

Post by Swizec »

refurb wrote: post #6

You know what would be super helpful? If scientists came up with a rating system that described how confident they were in the results from a study. That way the public would know how much weight they should give the results. Independent body who runs a well-controlled double blinded study? A+ Biased organization who runs an analysis of questionable observational data with barely passible statistical significance? F…

Scientists do in fact report how confident they are in their findings. Read original sources, most of them say things like "in X% of observed cases there was a Y% of Z over the course of T with confidence level of P".

But that sells a lot less clicks than "SCIENCE SAYS LOW SALT IS BAD FOR YOU OMG"

Re: Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds

#13

Post by rdtsc »

shard972 wrote: post #10
learc83 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's been some evidence that sugar is actually worse for you that we used to think. It makes a bit of sense really. Fat and salt has always been part of the human diet, but large quantities of refined sugar are very recent.

Which is why America puts bread at the base of the food Pyramid, can't get enough of that sweet sugar.

As we've read in the recent front page article about cereal. The food and agricultural lobby is heavily involved in "recommended food pyramid" agenda.

The most recent change I think was to make it a strange looking thing:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_guide_pyramid#mediaviewer...

With "milk" being it own category. (Hello Milk Lobby) and then some humanoid shape running up the stairs.

Basically the message is "eat whatever is marketed to you, but if you get fat is because you didn't run up the stairs enough".

Re: Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds

#14

Post by dap »

userbinator wrote: post #7

The new study, which tracked more than 100,000 people from 17 countries over an average of more than three years, found that those who consumed fewer than 3,000 milligrams of sodium a day had a 27% higher risk of death or a serious event such as a heart attack or stroke in that period than those whose intake was estimated at 3,000 to 6,000 milligrams. Risk of death or other major events increased with intake above 6,…

Isn't it also plausible that many people on low-sodium diets were at risk of heart attack or stroke already (and that's why they were on the low-sodium diet)? Interesting result, for sure, and it'll be interesting to see the follow-up studies.

Re: Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds

#16

Post by defen »

rdtsc wrote: post #11
higherpurpose wrote: post #2

We're finding out that fat [1] isn't actually bad for you, now salt, too. I wonder if we'll find out sugar is good for us, too, before long. [1] http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405270230367840...

There was actually a study done a while back looking if sugar causes "hyperactivity" in children. You know your typical cliché "kids ate cake, and now they are so hyper running around". And I believe they found that sugar does not cause hyperactivity, but somehow discovered that it helped either remember events better or learn new things. Now looking back I think I had experienced that myself -- I remember my mom mad…

Well, the brain does run on glucose...

Re: Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds

#17

Post by [deleted] »

dap wrote: post #14
userbinator wrote: post #7

The new study, which tracked more than 100,000 people from 17 countries over an average of more than three years, found that those who consumed fewer than 3,000 milligrams of sodium a day had a 27% higher risk of death or a serious event such as a heart attack or stroke in that period than those whose intake was estimated at 3,000 to 6,000 milligrams. Risk of death or other major events increased with intake above 6,…

Isn't it also plausible that many people on low-sodium diets were at risk of heart attack or stroke already (and that's why they were on the low-sodium diet)? Interesting result, for sure, and it'll be interesting to see the follow-up studies.

[deleted]

Re: Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds

#18

Post by nitrogen »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #8

Come on, some common sense is needed. Salt is required by our bodies, too little and we die, too much and the same thing. Same goes for fat, sugar, vitamins, minerals, etc... This isn't even new knowledge... Our bodies need various proteins, sugars and minerals in certain quantities - call the fucking press...

As I've commented on similar articles in the past, it's not enough to "just know" things; science has to prove them, repeatedly, in multiple ways. Sure it's tedious and repetitive, but it's absolutely essential to lay a solid foundation for the next generation of research.

Re: Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds

#19

Post by ekianjo »

learc83 wrote: post #4
higherpurpose wrote: post #2

We're finding out that fat [1] isn't actually bad for you, now salt, too. I wonder if we'll find out sugar is good for us, too, before long. [1] http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB1000142405270230367840...

There's been some evidence that sugar is actually worse for you that we used to think. It makes a bit of sense really. Fat and salt has always been part of the human diet, but large quantities of refined sugar are very recent.

> It makes a bit of sense really. Fat and salt has always been part of the human diet, but large quantities of refined sugar are very recent.

That kind of reasoning is very much flawed. Why would the diet of x years ago be relevant versus having a better diet nowadays ? For all we know, our ancestors were eating berries and much less meat than we do, yet we seem to live longer those days and yet we ingest substances (such as medicines) that were not part of the human diet before.

Actually, that line of reasoning does not make sense at all. That's why we run clinical studies. To find out answers.

Re: Low-Salt Diets May Pose Health Risks, Study Finds

#20

Post by userbinator »

rdtsc wrote: post #13
shard972 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is why America puts bread at the base of the food Pyramid, can't get enough of that sweet sugar.

As we've read in the recent front page article about cereal. The food and agricultural lobby is heavily involved in "recommended food pyramid" agenda. The most recent change I think was to make it a strange looking thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_guide_pyramid#mediaviewer... With "milk" being it own category. (Hello Milk Lobby) and then some humanoid shape running up the stairs. Basically the message is "ea…

It has now turned into this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyPlate
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