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Rethinking the War on Salt
by Conan Milner - Updated: March 18, 2021

After sweet, salty is probably our favorite flavor. Yet for decades, health experts have warned us to watch our sodium intake. Too much salt is said to cause high blood pressure, the top risk factor in heart disease, kidney disease, and strokes.

But according to Dr. James DiNicolantonio, author of “The Salt Fix: Why the Experts Got it All Wrong—and How Eating More Might Save Your Life,” many of us may actually be salt starved.

For nearly a decade, DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, has sifted through the history, research, and policy regarding salt and its impacts on our health. His new book paints a very different picture of salt than the one typically promoted in modern medicine.

DiNicolantonio noticed the dangers of salt deficiency early in his medical career as a community pharmacist. Patients came in to pick up their prescriptions and complained of dizziness, dehydration, and a rapid heartbeat. All of them were on medications to lower their blood pressure, so in every case, doctors had also told them to restrict their salt.

But their symptoms suggested signs of low sodium, so DiNicolantonio sent patients back to their doctors to get their levels tested.

“Sure enough, when their doctors tested their sodium levels, they were very low,” DiNicolantonio said. “At that point, the doctor either stopped the medication or cut the dose in half, and the doctor would tell them to add salt back to their food.”

Blood Pressure: A Red Herring?

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