{"id":26976,"date":"2017-07-25T03:54:03","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T07:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/?p=26976"},"modified":"2022-10-10T09:50:29","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T13:50:29","slug":"heart-health-and-salt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2017\/07\/heart-health-and-salt\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Heart-Felt Controversy Behind Salt?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Is This White Crystal Really the Villain of Heart Disease, or Guilty by Association? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Among the combative disagreements, a few glimmers of hope sometimes emerge that nutritional experts may one day wave the white flag on the dietary wars. Recently, one was witnessed with the release of the 2015-2020<\/a> Dietary Guidelines regarding the former dietary villain, cholesterol. Although many former egg-lovers once again delighted in their omelets, there is still a long way to go in finding a common consensus in what entails a truly \u201chealthy diet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recently, I listened to a podcast <\/a>that aimed to show the redeeming controversies of an essential nutrient that also has an unhealthy heart connection. But, should it?<\/p>\n


\nThe Controversy That Lies in the Salt Shaker<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to current guidelines by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC) and the American Heart Association<\/a> (AHA), Americans should limit their salt intake to 2,300 mg, or 1 tsp, or less a day of salt. However, beyond the salt shaker, it is noted that the processed food diet is a major contributor to the excessive high levels of sodium in our diets.<\/p>\n

In a recent podcast<\/a> with researcher and physician, Dr. DiNicolantonio, salt was exalted. He had previously argued in Open Heart<\/a><\/em> journal that we have been pointing the finger on the wrong white crystal for heart harm, and that salt was an innocent bystander. This argument fueled the fire and headlines, such as Discover Magazine<\/a>\u2019s 2015 article \u201cSugar, Not Salt, Is the Real Dietary Villain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some important take-aways in his conclusions included:<\/p>\n