Customer Reviews

Salt, Diet and Health

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Prior to reading this book, I considered myself to be quite partial to salt in meals; a regular dispenser of the white crystals from the receptacle on the table. I approached the subject as a skeptic, believing that our bodies cause us to partake of the right amount of salt to suit our needs.

After reading it, my behaviour changed markedly, and I find (as the book suggests will happen) that my "need" for salt has diminished.

The authors' argument proceeds as follows:

- Humans used to eat much less salt than they do now, and it is possible to prove a relationship between our larger intake today and the much higher rates of high blood pressure and concomitant diseases. Even today, in less advanced cultures where salt intake is less than 3g per day, high blood pressure is virtually unknown.

- High blood pressure is a central cause of heart attacks and strokes.

- Our physiological requirement is for only a small quantity of salt; the rest is "addiction".

- If you have high blood pressure, reducing your intake of salt modestly to 5g per day can have the effect of reducing your blood pressure. (Tips for measuring your daily intake are given)

- Excessive salt intake can also be linked with: fluid retention in women; certain forms of kidney disease; osteoporosis; kidney stones; carcinoma of the stomach; and asthma.

- A link between high blood pressure and salt intake is not a new idea. However, vested interests have conspired (with commercial food interests acting in much the same way as tobacco interests have done) to obstruct attempts to use this to encourage a reduction in salt intake.

Various peripheral subjects are explored in the book. For example, it deals extensively and humorously with the very central role salt has played in society in the past: a source of wealth and tax revenue, a symbol of wit, durability, friendship and virility. The book covers the history of salt extraction, and the evolution of now firmly established links between high blood pressure and heart disease and other associated conditions.

The thesis appears to be rigorously argued (though as a medical layman I cannot be the judge of that). Since it was published, the level of publicity about the dangers of salt appears to have increased, with some purveyors of processed foods committing to reduce the salt contents of their wares. For this reason, I would suggest that the book has stimulated debate on the subject; and that must be a good thing. If the links are as direct as is here suggested this may have prolonged some lives already.

Despite the fact that a wide view is taken of the subject of salt here: history, significance, health implications; this book is not all light reading. It is clearly not intended to be an academic paper for publication in a peer-review journal. However there are some parts which may seem heavy reading and somewhat difficult to understand at the first encounter for medical neophytes like me.

In summary: a powerful thesis, an interesting discussion of the subject, don't take it to the beach with you.

Professor MacGregor is to be applauded for his efforts at informing the public about the hidden salt in foods, especially in convenience foods, and for seeking to bring about a reduction in the levels of salt added to food by manufacturers. He and his co-author have enlarged on these matters and other aspects of salt in this book. Unfortunately two glaring errors render the book less than helpful to those most in danger of or most harmed by salt. No mention is made of obese steroid victims, whose weight gain is caused by sodium and water retention, and who would lose much of their excess weight by curtailing their salt intake. And the book states categorically that HRT does not cause these problems, whereas it is, sadly, many women's experience that HRT does indeed cause severe water retention and weight gain. Like the steroidees, obese HRT victims would also lose excess water/weight by curtailing salt intake. Let us hope that if a revised edition is produced these errors will be corrected and that it will also advise that patients taking steroids or HRT should be warned not to eat salt or foods containing salt while taking their medication.

Excuse the cliche, but everyone should read this book. After an interesting historical overview on human consumption of salt, the authors present a clear and compelling argument about the strong link between salt/sodium consumption and disease. I recommend that people interested in this should also read "The Salt Solution", which is perhaps a more accessible, shorter, and simpler book with a similar message. This book is an excellent companion to "The Salt Solution" because it lays out, in a more traditional academic style, the evidence from medical research studies published in reputable journals, the indisputable harmful effects of salt/sodium.

This is the book that you (or anyone skeptical of the salt/disease connection) would want to have if you were not satisfied with the credibility of typical trade books and, instead, wanted to see data, graphs, and careful arguments based on primary source research articles.

Also fascinating is the section on the salt industry and food processing industry response to efforts to educate the public about the dangers of salt consumption. These responses are eerily similar to those the tobacco industry ... perhaps not a surprise, given that many tobacco and food processing companies are owned by the same corporation and presumably employ the same lawyers and public relations teams. Read this book and you will realize that salt/sodium is bad stuff that is hidden in large quantities in many common foods. It could save you from early onset of heart disease, stroke, stomach cancer, osteoporosis, and other maladies that you can have some control over if you decide to become more salt-sodium aware. This book is a good start to doing that.