Hold the salt? Not so fast, say nutrition experts

Last week (April 21, 2010) the Institute of Medicine issued an official report claiming that Americans consume too much salt and urging that new government standards be established for "acceptable sodium content" in foods. Two UC Davis nutrition experts disagree.

In November, Judith Stern, a professor of nutrition and internal medicine, and David McCarron, an adjunct nutrition professor, both at UC Davis, published a study in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology that questioned the scientific logic and feasibility of broadly limiting salt intake in humans. (See journal article online.)

After examining data from sodium intake studies worldwide and a critical body of neuroscience research on sodium appetite (innate behaviors that drive us to consume salt), Stern and McCarron found compelling evidence indicating that humans naturally regulate their salt intake within a narrowly defined physiologic range. They found that Americans' average salt intake falls well within this range.

They suggest that government-led attempts to nationally control salt intake are simplistic, misguided, and not based in science and, instead, advise that individuals who are at special risk for high blood pressure and related diseases consult their physicians for nutritional advice, including appropriate levels of salt consumption.

(To view a flash video and UC Davis press release from October 2009, click here.)

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