Salt: Not the Crusty Villian the Government Would Have You Believe

Salt has been in the news quite a bit lately. Under attack as the super villain of the 21st Century, sodium is actually a very necessary component of the carbon based life form's diet. Muscles are powered by a mechanism known as the Sodium-Potassium Pump. For muscles to do their job, sodium (Na) and potassium (K) move back and forth through a membrane in the muscles. It is this movement that powers the muscles and allows for movement. Have you ever gotten cramps and had someone tell you to eat bananas? Bananas are a rich source of K (potassium). When your body doesn't have enough K, the pump breaks down and your muscles cramp up. The same is true for Na (sodium). I was listening to Sports Talk radio a while back and they were talking about football teams drinking pickle juice. Aside from being quite tasty in a Pickletini or straight up for that matter (my wife says I'm going to turn into a pickle), pickle juice contains a high concentration of Na. As athletes work, they lose high amounts of Na as they sweat. By drinking pickle juice (or taking salt tablets) they are loading up on Na just before engaging in strenuous activity. If not for this practice, cramps will often result because of a deficit of Na and a breakdown of the Na-K Pump. The ions can't move back and forth through the membrane so the muscle stops working.
In a 2006 letter of the Harvard Heart Letter, it states that the benefits of cutting back on Sodium (Na) for the general population are not so cut and dried.
"...there really isn't a one-size-fits-all recommendation for daily sodium intake. If you are under age 50, your blood pressure is in a healthy range, and your health is good, you probably have little reason to worry about salt intake. A lower-sodium diet is good for people who are older, who are of African American descent, or who have high blood pressure or diabetes. These folks should limit their sodium intake to no more than 2,300–2,400 mg a day. People with heart failure or kidney disease are advised to keep their sodium intake under 2,000 mg a day."

Another older report from the Journal of Experimental Physiology centered on a study on pigs. They supplemented the diets of these pigs with salt and monitored the output of Na excreted in the pigs' urine. As the supplements increased, the level of Na in the urine increased. As the the amount of supplement decreased the level of Na decreased while the level of K (potassium) remained the same.

SO! What does all of this scientific gibberish mean? It means that the body needs salt. It also means that if you are a healthy human with properly functioning kidneys, the amount of salt you consume is not of major concern. If you are in one of the key demographics that is sensitive to Na, people who are older, who are of African American descent, have high blood pressure or diabetes, or with heart failure or kidney disease, you should drastically reduce your intake of sodium. For the vast majority of the population, the human body will regulate the levels of Na to maintain safe levels through elimination by the kidneys and other means, also known as homeostasis. (def. N.:The ability or tendency of an organism or cell to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting its physiological processes.)

So in short, listen to your body. Listen to your doctor. Ignore the bureaucrats. The government's desire to paint the entire population with a 'one size fits all' decree is simply misplaced and over reaching. Your body will tell you when you have had too much salt. Ever had a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew for dinner (Note: I haven't touched it since I was a kid. Don't want to damage my rep as a chef!)? Find yourself downing glass after glass of water which undoubtedly leads to trip after trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night? This is your body eliminating excess salt to prevent the hypertension and high blood pressure the government assumes every American is saddled with. Likewise have you ever had the urge to latch onto a salt lick and not let go until your tongue looks like a piece of Jack Link's Beef Jerky? That's your body telling you, you don't have enough sodium in your body.
Listen to your body. Listen to your doctor. Tell the bureaucrats to keep their noses out of your dining room!