Salt is needed for health

Dr. Brownstein on salt:


Restriction Increases Mortality Risk




Wednesday, 29 Jan 2014 03:45 PM

By Dr. Brownstein

There are studies that dispute the “salt equals hypertension” theory. Fifty-seven trials reviewed over a 25-year period (1966-2001) showed that in individuals with normal blood pressure, a low-sodium diet resulted in an average decline of systolic blood pressure of just 1.27 mmHG and a decline of diastolic pressure of only 0.54 mmHg.



The Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of a study of 3,681 subjects for a median of 7.9 years that found death rates actually increased as the subjects ate less salt.



Yet another study (2011), conducted by the Cochrane Review (an independent group that takes no money from Big Pharma), examined seven prior studies that compared dietary salt restriction to a control group. The study specifically looked at the development of cardiovascular disease and mortality.



According to Cochrane, salt restriction resulted in a lowered systolic blood pressure of between 1 to 4 mmHG. There was no evidence that restricting salt resulted in lower rates of cardiovascular disease or mortality. In fact, salt restriction increased the risk of all-cause mortality (death from any cause) in those with heart failure by 259 percent.



Understanding human physiology can give you an idea why a low-salt diet is not a healthy alternative. Salt is the second most common substance in the human body, after water. Sodium and chloride — the main components of salt — are vital for hundreds of different chemical reactions in the body. In addition, salt is needed to hold water inside the cells, and adequate salt levels are necessary to maintain optimal blood pressure.



In fact, life itself is not possible without adequate amounts of sodium and chloride. Low intake of salt will lead to deficiency, and salt deficiency is a dangerous condition for the body as it triggers a cascade of hormonal responses.


If a shortage of salt occurs, aldosterone, a hormone secreted from the adrenal glands, causes the kidneys to retain more sodium, thereby raising blood pressure. Angiotensin, another adrenal hormone, also aids in this process of increasing sodium retention when the body senses a deficiency.

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Fortunately, a good number of new afibbers aren't visiting the General Health Forum routinely...so they won’t see this recommendation and think that adding more salt is a healthy thing for their circumstances. In case they do, clarification on the topic is in order…especially as it relates to afibbers. That said, while adrenal function does require sodium for optimal function, it’s a small amount.

The sodium requirement to maintain overall health and functionality is relatively small… 500 – 1000 mg a day…compared to what a typical Standard American Dietary (SAD) intake of typically around 4,000 mg… often much higher.

Sodium competes with and overpowers potassium. As we all know from CR 72, an over-abundance of sodium (salt) in the diet is the fundamental interference factor for the proper functioning of the sodium/potassium ion pump mechanism that ultimately influences the regulation of the heart beat or electrical conduction functionality.

When intracellular potassium is low, the result is an increase in heart rate due to the shortening of the refractory period…or the time between beats. In hearts that have the tendency to slip into arrhythmia once the refractory period is shortened, adding more salt to their diet would be the worst advice possible. As noted in the following statement on CR 72, the result is lowered cell voltage and since the heart is functionally electric, it’s obvious that low potassium causes conduction problems.


Conference Room 72 [www.afibbers.org] discusses the importance of maintaining a dietary intake of potassium to sodium in a ratio of at least 4:1…some say 5:1 or more. Ultimately what counts is the ratio inside the cells which is much higher. Anyone reducing dietary sodium, should also make sure they also are increasing dietary intake of potassium. Afibbers, especially need to optimize potassium intake.

Soon, I’ll be doing a review of this topic in the LAF forum for new members as an incentive for them to study CR 72 and apply the science presented to their lifestyles and dietary habits.

CR 72 explains some of the ways by which electrolytes and co-factor nutrients interact to produce the heart's normal rhythm. Very simply put, succinctly expressed by the words Healing Is Voltage (Jerry Tennant MD's physiology text), most AF - indeed most disease - can be shown to originate from low cell voltage and the principal cause of low cell voltage (there are others) is low dietary potassium with high dietary sodium, along with deficiencies of core nutrients required for driving the cells' electrical generators, the ubiquitous sodium-potassium pumps.

Meanwhile, for this thread, it’s worthwhile reading through this interview with Richard D. Moore, MD, PhD (biophysics) about the focus of his books The High Blood Pressure Solution and The Salt Solution.. conducted by PhD nutritionist, Richard Passwater in 2001. Here’s a segment:

Dr. Moore’s comments are specifically relevant to the advice to about adding more sodium to one’s diet…

Potassium - to - Sodium Ratio Affects Overall Health

Moore: The DASH diet is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't go far enough. It is very frustrating to me because it is entirely based on empiricism and "group think." Those responsible for the DASH diet just looked at evidence showing that there is a little bit of help to be derived from potassium, a little bit of help from sodium and so on. They put the DASH diet and clinical studies together without an understanding of the fundamental relationship between sodium and potassium. That is, they didn't understand the very important point that, because of osmotic equilibrium, the sum of the sodium and potassium inside the cell is very close to constant (within about 2%).

Therefore, it is virtually impossible -- not just because of the sodium/potassium exchange pump and all these things in the body which tend to move sodium in one direction and potassium in the other direction, but just because of physical reasons (the laws of physics) -- to lower sodium inside the cell without the involvement of potassium. Potassium has such an important role in the body. You can't lower the sodium without replacing it with potassium. That is the key: there is just no sense in talking about either sodium or potassium alone! This is so awfully important. It is one point that I would love to get across to the medical profession, but up until now most practitioners have failed to get it.

Therefore, the vast majority of those studies that have been done with dietary sodium were very poorly designed, scientifically. They didn't take into account that this is not a one variable situation. There are two variables that must be taken into account together! The two are linked, and you have to look at them together if you are going to see a pattern.

Passwater: Everyone in clinical studies is trained to look at one variable at a time, no wonder that synergistic effects are missed.

Moore: Not in physics - that's where my background is.

Passwater: It's a shame that more biochemists don't know a little about biophysics.

Moore: In medical school, this idea of trying to change one variable at a time has become a religion. But the only way you can do that is with drugs. You can change an intake of a drug, i. e. one variable, but once you look at what is going on inside the body, you discover that everything is interlinked. Thus, it is impossible to change one variable without all the others also shifting.

Passwater: I call that polypharmacy, and it's just too complex for the scientific method that people have been trained to use. All the nutrients seem to have interactions, and you just can't study them individually.

Moore: That's right. Nutritionists are still talking about sodium requirements. It depends on the potassium levels in the diet, too.

Passwater: It goes on and on. We try to get the message across. Eventually, clinical researchers will design clinical studies to look at more than one variable at a time. In the meantime, I guess we'll have to put up with some frustration.

Continue: [www.drpasswater.com]


Jackie

Dr. Brownstein does not recommend table salt which contains mostly Sodium Chloride, Dr. Brownstein recommends Celtic Sea salt which is unprocessed and contains some minerals. Dr. J. Wright of Tahoma Washington Clinic (Jackie has spoken highly of him) sells his Wrightsalt, which is a reduced sodium salt, this salt is based on the Finnish study which was conducted using this type of salt on heart health, in the study using this type of salt decreased BP, also Dr. Richard Moore has alluded to this study in his book which Jackie has posted about in many posts.

I am not saying that one should consume lots of salt, but I am saying that you do need some salt, the right kind of salt. Of course, we need potassium, it is very important, I try to get as much as I can from my food rather than supplements. I guess that is why doctors say the vegetarian diet is heart healthy because of the potassium content of vegetables and fruit.

Where Jackie and I differ is in the fact that she advocates a very small amount of salt in our diets, I believe we need a little more (the right kind of salt) in our diets along with rich potassium food.

Liz

The Center For Disease Control, CDC, thinks we get way too much sodium even if we never add any in our cooking, if we ever eat out or by processed foods.

Certainly salt affects different people differently. I weight about 185 lbs and can gain up to 3 lbs in a day by eating wrongly.

One dietary recommendation I particularly like is, "If the food you're considering has a nutrition label, don't buy it."

Gordon

[www.cdc.gov]

Liz - Here's the Wright Salt you referenced. [www.tahomaclinicblog.com]

When it comes to adding salt to food at the table, this sounds like a reasonable alternative. However, the majority of salt overload comes from commercially prepared foods (restaurant or packaged) with added salt in very high amounts... hidden from the consumer who is controlled by his taste buds that have been tuned to craving a more salty taste.

As Gordon so wisely mentioned...if if comes with a label, don't buy it, but if you eat in a restaurant, you can be sure they are adding salt and it's going to be the cheapest type available... and plenty of it. And it's not going to be Wright Salt.

My initial response was to remind afibbers of the findings by scientists who research the detrimental effects of an imbalance of sodium versus potassium in the average diet and why that imbalance could be the core issue of their arrhythmia. I'm just passing along the science for those who want to learn more about either staying healthy or regaining health. It's not my 'original thought' or my specific diet or my opinion.. Just reporting the scientific facts by the leaders who are intending to help reverse the health problems caused by sodium overload.

Jackie