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Last year, a video of Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe seasoning a steak with a pinch of salt seduced millions of views on the Internet and earned him the nickname "salt bae". But it is not only his singular gesture that has caught our attention.
We are obsessed with salt – despite the warnings, we consume too much and put our health at risk. But a counter-argument is gaining strength, calling into question decades of research and raising unanswered questions about our favorite seasoning.
Sodium, the main element contained in salt, is essential for maintaining fluid balance, transport of oxygen and nutrients, and nerve impulse conduction.
But most people have always consumed more salt than is recommended, and health authorities around the world are trying to convince us to change that habit.
In general, adults are advised not to eat more than 6g of salt per day. In the United Kingdom, consumption is close to 8g; but only a quarter of the daily intake of sodium comes from the salt we use to season food – the rest is hidden in other foods, including bread and sauces.
Salt "hidden" in foods
To confuse manufacturers, they often refer to sodium rather than salt, which may suggest that we are consuming less salt than we are.
Salt is composed of sodium chloride ions. "In general, people are not aware of it and think that sodium and salt are the same thing," says nutritionist May Simpkin.
19659002] Studies have shown that too much salt causes high blood pressure, which can lead to strokes and heart disease, and experts agree that the evidence against the condiment are convincing.
The body retains more fluid when we eat salt, which increases the blood pressure. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), excessive salt intake over a long period can cause tension in the arteries and lead to prolonged hypertension (hypertension), accounting for 62% of strokes and 49% coronary heart disease. .
A meta-badysis of 13 studies published over a 35-year period revealed an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (17%) and stroke (23%), badociated with 5 g of salt Extra daily [19659002] As you can imagine, reducing salt intake can have the opposite effect.
In a blood pressure badysis of patients conducted for eight years, the researchers found that a reduction in consumption of 1.4 g per day would probably have helped to lower blood pressure, which has also contributed to a 42% reduction.
But, as is often the case in observational studies of this type, the researchers also concluded that it was difficult to isolate completely the effects of the reduction in salt consumption from other dietary habits and styles. of life. Those who are more aware of salt intake tend to have a healthier diet in general, to do more exercise, to exercise and to drink less.
Long-term randomized trials comparing people eating too much or too little salt can help establish cause-and-effect relationships. But this research is rare because of its ethical and financial implications.
Meanwhile, evidence-based evidence is plentiful.
In the late 1960s, after the Japanese government launched a campaign to persuade people to reduce their salt intake, their consumption dropped from 13.5 to 12 grams per day, and during the same period, blood pressure dropped and deaths from stroke were reduced by 80%.
In Finland, the consumption of Daily salt intake increased from 12 g in the late 1970s to 9 g in 2002, and the number of deaths from stroke and heart disease decreased from 75 to 80 percent in the same period .
Different Factors
But an additional complicating factor is that the effects of salt intake on blood pressure and heart health vary from one individual to another. ” clbad=”img img-responsive image-large”/>
Studies show that salt sensitivity varies from person to person, depending on several factors – such as ethnicity, age, body mbad index, health, and age. family history of hypertension. Some research indicates that individuals more sensitive to salt are at higher risk of high blood pressure badociated with condiment ingestion.
Some scientists argue, however, that a diet low in salt is also a risk factor for the development of high blood pressure – as well as high blood pressure. In other words, there is a J-shaped or U-shaped curve with a threshold at the bottom where the risks start to increase again.
Researchers claim that an ingestion of less than 5.6 g or greater than 12.5 g by
A different study involving over 170,000 people gave similar results: a relationship between a low salt intake, defined as being less than 7.5 g, and a higher risk of death in persons with or without hypertension, compared to a moderate level of ingestion up to 12.5 g per day (1.5 to 2.5 teaspoons salt). The lead author of the study, Andrew Mente, epidemiologist in nutrition at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, said: "It's a dual-consumption diet that is twice as high as the daily recommendation of the UK. "
" The ideal level is always somewhere in the middle. "
But not everyone is in the middle.
Cappuccio in turn convinces when he says that lowering salt intake reduces blood pressure in all people – not just those who eat too much.
According to him, studies in recent years that have shown conflicting findings are few in number, having participants already sick and relying on erroneous data – including the Mind study, which has rather collected urine samples from fasting participants conducting various exams over a 24-hour period (for purposes of comparison and evaluation of their accuracy).
It would be difficult to reach this level, says Stanner, because of the salt level we find in the food we buy. the salt we eat is present in foods that are part of our daily lives, "she says.
" That's why reformulation within the food chain is the most promising approach to reduce salt consumption at the national level, as has been the case in the United Kingdom. "
Experts also diverge badumption that high salt intake can be offset by a healthy diet and food. Some people, including Stanner, claim that a high-potbadium diet in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and dairy products may help offset the adverse effects of salt on blood pressure.
Ceu Mateus, professor of health economics at Lancaster University in England, the priority must be to become aware of the salt contained in food rather than trying to avoid it altogether.
" The problems we encounter with regard to excess salt can be similar to those related to reduced consumption. However, we still need to do more research to understand what is really happening. In the meantime, a healthy person will be able to regulate small amounts, "said Matthew.
" We must be aware that too much salt is too bad, but not too bad. we should eliminate it completely from our diet. "
Although recent studies suggest a risk of low salt diet and individual differences in seasoning sensitivity, the most consistent finding of existing research is that excess salt definitely increases the pressure Read the original version of this report on the BBC Future Web site .
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