If you are giving recommendations for lowering BP I trust you agree that there's value in lowering it. Lower risk of stroke and heart disease? I'm sure as a doctor you've come across all sorts of people but very few that can magically become active enough, loose enough weight and eat "well" to lower their BP never mind maintain it all indefinitely. If that's the sort of person they were the'd already be pretty close on all that.So what's a doctor to do? What if they are slim, active and eating well? They prescribe things that help people. Would you not prescribe BP lowering meds for someone that presents with 140/80, 150, 160...?
I don't think anyone is promoting lower is always better, at zero we die and somewhere below 100 people tend to get dizzy. There is a point of diminishing returns.
Well if someone wants to artificially reduce their blood pressure without improving their health, whilst deluding themselves into thinking they are getting healthier because a proxy metric is lower, I know many government-certified drug dealers that can assist with that.
Don't know never dealt with a knife wound. If I came across some with a knife in them I'd get qualified medical help, I don't think that would be you. I'm going to go out on a limb and question if you are even legal to prescribe. Anyone can tell people to reduce your stress, eat well and add on some special salt you don't need a doctor for that. Is MD for medical doctor or are you just wanting people to assume that?
As a nephrologist, hypertension is a major part of my expertise. I agree with my colleague. Hypertension is a symptom, and highly overdiagnosed. Office measurement of blood pressure is skewed by the "white coat" phenomenon. Anyone diagnosed this way should get a home monitor and check their pressure at least twice daily. The external pressure required to compress the brachial artery increases as arteries stiffen with age. The recommendation to treat elderly patients to a blood pressure <120/80 is both scientifically absurd, and extremely harmful.
The goalposts are constantly being lowered by industry funded panels of "experts" who view blood pressure as a "continuum of risk," meaning that lower is always better. Things like syncope get in the way of this approach.
"Essential" hypertension is a pharma scam designed to keep a large proportion of the population on their medications for life.
The underlying cause of hypertension in most patients today is the metabolic syndrome and is present in almost all patients with type 2 diabetes, the other major manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. Both hypertension and diabetes can be reversed in these patients by following a no sugar, carb restricted, time restricted, no seed oils diet. Restricting salt intake is an error, unless there's significant kidney, heart, or liver damage.
Really interesting article. I’ve wondered about the moving goalposts on BP, blood glucose, A1C and so forth. In my case retiring reduced my BP, I did lose some weight as well, but the drop in BP preceded that. Last question: so BP should be done on the left arm, being closest to the heart? I’ve seen articles suggesting it be taken in both arms, this has never happened to me as a patient.
Any ancient sea salt. I use Redmond Sea Salt because it is mined in my region. Table salt is refined to eliminate everything but the sodium and chloride. And then they add in some type of anti-caking agent to keep it from clumping. Often that contains aluminum, the #1 mineral you do not want in your body.
As far as weight, my husband reduced his pressure when he lost weight. I had pregnancy induced hypertension which corrected after childbirth, then ended up with severe anemia due to celiac, and that gave me low bp and then had increasing bp more recently which I treat through more not less (mineral) salt in water and adding more movement. As well as other things. But it may be that the severe anemia, which lasted for some time until I went gluten free and had IV iron for several months, may have been a major contributor to my bp volatility. Anemia is terribly bad for the body's processes.
If lead in ancient sea salt was so high and problematic, why are there any fish alive today?
It's my uneducated understanding that problem minerals, like lead and aluminum, are problematic because of their high positive charge. It's that charge that does so much damage in the human body. You get rid of that excess positive charge by binding it with other minerals, which puts it in a form that your body can excrete. Minerals like those found in sea salt.
If LSM's children were injured by lead, it was most likely lead leached from lead plumbing pipes or some other non-dietary source. Leached lead is pure lead, not lead bound with other minerals. That is HIGHLY problematic.
She receives income from affiliate links and heavily cites sources that perpetuate mainstream medical propaganda. I'd say take what she says with a grain of sea salt. Or not, if you are risk averse.
I'd be more likely to believe her spin if it referenced actual research, instead of the talking points of corporate medicine.
Great article! Actually lowering hypertension with drugs without identifying and addressing the underlying cause makes little sense.
That said, it's important to clarify that one should not consume more salt of any kind, whether it's table salt, Himalayan salt, or black salt. The European Society of Cardiology recommends not exceeding 2 grams of sodium per day, equivalent to about 5 grams of NaCl. Yet, in Western countries, average daily intake often exceeds 10 grams.
Even potassium-based salt substitutes should be used with caution, as excess potassium can be dangerous, especially in individuals with kidney issues.
The better strategy is to reduce both salt and salty foods, and instead flavor meals with herbs and spices. Most importantly, aim for a healthy, whole-food, plant-based diet low in saturated fats.
Plenty of evidence supporting animal protein as the best for humans and saturated fats as the best. Our body runs on cholesterol. We do not produce hormones with olive oil, our brains require cholesterol, our immune system needs it as well. Those with higher cholesterol are shown to have increased longevity. Higher early death with low cholesterol. Cut out seed oils and go to healthy saturated fats like animal and coconut oil. Cut the carbs and processed foods. As for salt, in the past many cultures ate far more salt as food was preserved with it. Hyponatremia is far more dangerous as evident from all the falls in nursing homes from low salt diets. Healthy kidneys eliminate excess salt. Too little salt stresses the kidneys as it tries to hold on to sodium for the 1,000 plus metabolic functions that require it. The demonization of salt and cholesterol has been to the detriment of our health.
Do you mean the minerals such as zinc, selenium, magnesium that act as cofactors of various enzymes? Of course they are missing because table salt is pure NaCl, while other less refined salts may have traces of other minerals. Beware, however, that these are very small quantities and the content is very variable. This is why, if you pay attention, manufacturers obviously do not measure them and do not indicate them on the packaging.
The most important point is that all these minerals are present in food and with a balanced diet you can easily reach your requirements.
The most critical one is certainly iodine because many soils are deficient in it. This is why it is essential to use iodized salt or an iodine supplement, unless you eat sea fish every day.
Not only ESC but any major medical association recommends reducing salt intake below 5-6 g/day, including that contained in food (often most of it). The American Heart Association guidelines even suggest not exceeding 1.5 g of sodium per day, which corresponds to 3.8 g of NaCl.
Regardless of where sodium comes from, from more or less industrially refined salts, sodium is always the same. Less refined salts may have other trace minerals, yes, but really in very small quantities.
I agree that many people who follow the western diet are deficient in potassium, magnesium and many other minerals. But they don't have to come from salt but from food. With a healthy diet based on whole grains, pulses, unprocessed vegetables and fruit, everybody can easily reach all the requirements of both vitamins and minerals.
They may be wrong about some things, but in the guidelines they are based on the analysis of so many studies published so far on each topic.
If you disagree with something, you should at least cite the meta-analyses, systematic reviews or epidemiological studies that support your thesis. Because that is how evidence-based medicine works.
If all health professionals start stating their opinion that has no scientific basis, it becomes chaos. I think it is important to make people understand that science is not based on individual opinions, especially when it comes to such important topics as health advice.
People died all the time from consuming too much salt in ancient times. Thats why they used tons of salt to preserve food and consumend a hundred times more salt than any modern human does.
Guess they were just too uneducated without the guidance of some comittee to spot that they die all the time from too much salt.
Good thing we modern humans now have these comittees!
Exactly, it made sense to use so much salt to preserve food back in the days when there were no refrigerators and all the possibilities we have now, at least in industrialized countries, to always have fresh, unprocessed foods available.
Yet so many people unfortunately continue to consume a huge amount of salt-rich products such as various processed meats and fish, canned products, cheeses, and more, not to mention ultra-processed foods (and in these products salt is not even the main problem).
So responsible health professionals should advise first and foremost to minimize the consumption of these products, and possibly not to overdo the added salt, 3-4 g of iodized salt per day is more than enough.
Big block of stone salt is good to have on hand. Put a ~2kg piece of stone salt into a bowl of water so its half submerged in (clean!) water and keep it ~1m away from your head when you sleep. Its (not) magic ☻.
You can even use it as bait for hunting (apparently unethical) or wildlife photograph. People get an erection talking about pink salt and sea salt, your ancestors used simply local stone salt and were just fine. Except, well, perhaps, if its a coastal area. But then seawater is dirty, and im not even talking about the guy working the evaporation field not walking a mile to pee every time nature calls.
Real salts are unprocessed so that they retain all or most of their trace minerals. Redmond’s Real, Celtic sea salt, Pink Himalayan all qualify. Electrolyte supplements/powder only contain 4-5 of the trace minerals so, while they are better than nothing, they are not ideal. The best way to get the trace minerals is by using the real salts on your food and put a pinch of it in all the water you drink to stay hydrated.
I have also read information to that effect. According to the research I have done, this salt (to be found on Amazon) is the cleanest that has been tested. My apologies that I can’t post the link to the article. It’s somewhere in the annals of my health research! Original Himalayan Salt Crystal -... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A76UOI?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
I think it's a real concern. Lead safe mama tested Celtic Sea salt too which had high amounts of lead. I can't remember which brand didn't have lead but it should be on her website.
There is a lot of evidence to show that the majority of high blood pressure is caused by extra weight on the body. And in my case in specific, losing 30 pounds returned my blood pressure to a totally normal range. So since then I have looked at several studies that show fasting and weight loss can reduce blood pressure in almost 100% of cases back to healthy ranges. This leads me to believe That the majority of people should just lose some weight. lol. No drugs required. I didn’t say it was “easy” but it comes with a lot of positive side effects, unlike the drugs.
Thanks for the clarification. They just never do it that way in the office. I suppose I should ask.
If you are giving recommendations for lowering BP I trust you agree that there's value in lowering it. Lower risk of stroke and heart disease? I'm sure as a doctor you've come across all sorts of people but very few that can magically become active enough, loose enough weight and eat "well" to lower their BP never mind maintain it all indefinitely. If that's the sort of person they were the'd already be pretty close on all that.So what's a doctor to do? What if they are slim, active and eating well? They prescribe things that help people. Would you not prescribe BP lowering meds for someone that presents with 140/80, 150, 160...?
I don't think anyone is promoting lower is always better, at zero we die and somewhere below 100 people tend to get dizzy. There is a point of diminishing returns.
Well if someone wants to artificially reduce their blood pressure without improving their health, whilst deluding themselves into thinking they are getting healthier because a proxy metric is lower, I know many government-certified drug dealers that can assist with that.
Those are not patients I want to work with.
If it's a proxy measurement why measure it or do anything at all about it?
Why even experience pain, if it's only telling you there's a knife in your leg?
Better to just target the pain, than to remove the knife.
Don't know never dealt with a knife wound. If I came across some with a knife in them I'd get qualified medical help, I don't think that would be you. I'm going to go out on a limb and question if you are even legal to prescribe. Anyone can tell people to reduce your stress, eat well and add on some special salt you don't need a doctor for that. Is MD for medical doctor or are you just wanting people to assume that?
It takes a real expert to mutilate and chronically medicate someone with legal protection to do so.
I’m so glad you wouldn’t come to me for help.
Thank you for doing me this kindness.
Were you ever a doctor? Lost your license or just never had one?
I don't let those creeps near me.
As a nephrologist, hypertension is a major part of my expertise. I agree with my colleague. Hypertension is a symptom, and highly overdiagnosed. Office measurement of blood pressure is skewed by the "white coat" phenomenon. Anyone diagnosed this way should get a home monitor and check their pressure at least twice daily. The external pressure required to compress the brachial artery increases as arteries stiffen with age. The recommendation to treat elderly patients to a blood pressure <120/80 is both scientifically absurd, and extremely harmful.
The goalposts are constantly being lowered by industry funded panels of "experts" who view blood pressure as a "continuum of risk," meaning that lower is always better. Things like syncope get in the way of this approach.
"Essential" hypertension is a pharma scam designed to keep a large proportion of the population on their medications for life.
The underlying cause of hypertension in most patients today is the metabolic syndrome and is present in almost all patients with type 2 diabetes, the other major manifestation of the metabolic syndrome. Both hypertension and diabetes can be reversed in these patients by following a no sugar, carb restricted, time restricted, no seed oils diet. Restricting salt intake is an error, unless there's significant kidney, heart, or liver damage.
Really interesting article. I’ve wondered about the moving goalposts on BP, blood glucose, A1C and so forth. In my case retiring reduced my BP, I did lose some weight as well, but the drop in BP preceded that. Last question: so BP should be done on the left arm, being closest to the heart? I’ve seen articles suggesting it be taken in both arms, this has never happened to me as a patient.
Ideally should be measured in both arms and the higher one used. Variations of more than 10 mmHg should prompt a vascular evaluation.
What he mean by "real salt"?
Any ancient sea salt. I use Redmond Sea Salt because it is mined in my region. Table salt is refined to eliminate everything but the sodium and chloride. And then they add in some type of anti-caking agent to keep it from clumping. Often that contains aluminum, the #1 mineral you do not want in your body.
Thank you!
Insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, inflammation. I shared with those that need your info thank you!
Recommendations for #4 real salt? We’ve been trying to find a good sea salt but think they’ve bleached it beyond recognition.
I can't imagine why a salt manufacturer would bleach the product. Sodium chloride is pure white in the first place. Salt is a mineral, not living.
Hi Rosie all I can think is there is some benefit for them and to hell to the consumer. I could be wrong and am jaded for sure.
Excellent!
As far as weight, my husband reduced his pressure when he lost weight. I had pregnancy induced hypertension which corrected after childbirth, then ended up with severe anemia due to celiac, and that gave me low bp and then had increasing bp more recently which I treat through more not less (mineral) salt in water and adding more movement. As well as other things. But it may be that the severe anemia, which lasted for some time until I went gluten free and had IV iron for several months, may have been a major contributor to my bp volatility. Anemia is terribly bad for the body's processes.
Ok After looking very briefly at the Lead SafeMama site, I have to say this whole worry may be outsized. Please read and see what you think:
https://tamararubin.com/2020/10/how-much-lead-is-in-salt-which-salt-is-safest-to-use-for-cooking-is-himalayan-salt-safe/
Two more points about Lead Safe Mama.
If lead in ancient sea salt was so high and problematic, why are there any fish alive today?
It's my uneducated understanding that problem minerals, like lead and aluminum, are problematic because of their high positive charge. It's that charge that does so much damage in the human body. You get rid of that excess positive charge by binding it with other minerals, which puts it in a form that your body can excrete. Minerals like those found in sea salt.
If LSM's children were injured by lead, it was most likely lead leached from lead plumbing pipes or some other non-dietary source. Leached lead is pure lead, not lead bound with other minerals. That is HIGHLY problematic.
She receives income from affiliate links and heavily cites sources that perpetuate mainstream medical propaganda. I'd say take what she says with a grain of sea salt. Or not, if you are risk averse.
I'd be more likely to believe her spin if it referenced actual research, instead of the talking points of corporate medicine.
Great article! Actually lowering hypertension with drugs without identifying and addressing the underlying cause makes little sense.
That said, it's important to clarify that one should not consume more salt of any kind, whether it's table salt, Himalayan salt, or black salt. The European Society of Cardiology recommends not exceeding 2 grams of sodium per day, equivalent to about 5 grams of NaCl. Yet, in Western countries, average daily intake often exceeds 10 grams.
Even potassium-based salt substitutes should be used with caution, as excess potassium can be dangerous, especially in individuals with kidney issues.
The better strategy is to reduce both salt and salty foods, and instead flavor meals with herbs and spices. Most importantly, aim for a healthy, whole-food, plant-based diet low in saturated fats.
Plenty of evidence supporting animal protein as the best for humans and saturated fats as the best. Our body runs on cholesterol. We do not produce hormones with olive oil, our brains require cholesterol, our immune system needs it as well. Those with higher cholesterol are shown to have increased longevity. Higher early death with low cholesterol. Cut out seed oils and go to healthy saturated fats like animal and coconut oil. Cut the carbs and processed foods. As for salt, in the past many cultures ate far more salt as food was preserved with it. Hyponatremia is far more dangerous as evident from all the falls in nursing homes from low salt diets. Healthy kidneys eliminate excess salt. Too little salt stresses the kidneys as it tries to hold on to sodium for the 1,000 plus metabolic functions that require it. The demonization of salt and cholesterol has been to the detriment of our health.
It seems the cofactors in the mineral salts are what is missing in regular table salt. These things work together.
Do you mean the minerals such as zinc, selenium, magnesium that act as cofactors of various enzymes? Of course they are missing because table salt is pure NaCl, while other less refined salts may have traces of other minerals. Beware, however, that these are very small quantities and the content is very variable. This is why, if you pay attention, manufacturers obviously do not measure them and do not indicate them on the packaging.
The most important point is that all these minerals are present in food and with a balanced diet you can easily reach your requirements.
The most critical one is certainly iodine because many soils are deficient in it. This is why it is essential to use iodized salt or an iodine supplement, unless you eat sea fish every day.
The ESA is wrong.
People should reduce the inflammatory table salt and additive salt in processed foods.
But most of the developed western world is deficient in potassium, magnesium and other trace minerals that come from natural salts.
People should most definitely cut out the industrial crap, and consume MORE mineral salts.
Not only ESC but any major medical association recommends reducing salt intake below 5-6 g/day, including that contained in food (often most of it). The American Heart Association guidelines even suggest not exceeding 1.5 g of sodium per day, which corresponds to 3.8 g of NaCl.
Regardless of where sodium comes from, from more or less industrially refined salts, sodium is always the same. Less refined salts may have other trace minerals, yes, but really in very small quantities.
I agree that many people who follow the western diet are deficient in potassium, magnesium and many other minerals. But they don't have to come from salt but from food. With a healthy diet based on whole grains, pulses, unprocessed vegetables and fruit, everybody can easily reach all the requirements of both vitamins and minerals.
I don't even agree with the ESC and AHA about their conception of many diseases, why would I take their recommendations seriously?.
Their corporate ties and financial interests are enough to make any wary patient's head spin.
If you consume virtually no salt, from where does the digestive system get chloride ions to replenish the hydrochloric acid used by the stomach?
And why do dairy farmers install salt-licks for their cattle?
They may be wrong about some things, but in the guidelines they are based on the analysis of so many studies published so far on each topic.
If you disagree with something, you should at least cite the meta-analyses, systematic reviews or epidemiological studies that support your thesis. Because that is how evidence-based medicine works.
If all health professionals start stating their opinion that has no scientific basis, it becomes chaos. I think it is important to make people understand that science is not based on individual opinions, especially when it comes to such important topics as health advice.
You should read The Salt Fix by DiNicolantonio to better understand the $cience behind the 2.3 gram maximum daily salt recommendation.
People died all the time from consuming too much salt in ancient times. Thats why they used tons of salt to preserve food and consumend a hundred times more salt than any modern human does.
Guess they were just too uneducated without the guidance of some comittee to spot that they die all the time from too much salt.
Good thing we modern humans now have these comittees!
Good thing we have solid scientific data now! ☺️
Exactly, it made sense to use so much salt to preserve food back in the days when there were no refrigerators and all the possibilities we have now, at least in industrialized countries, to always have fresh, unprocessed foods available.
Yet so many people unfortunately continue to consume a huge amount of salt-rich products such as various processed meats and fish, canned products, cheeses, and more, not to mention ultra-processed foods (and in these products salt is not even the main problem).
So responsible health professionals should advise first and foremost to minimize the consumption of these products, and possibly not to overdo the added salt, 3-4 g of iodized salt per day is more than enough.
People are individuals.
Not aggregate data or consensus opinion.
I don't care if you agree. Just keep it in mind as you journey through health.
I've seen enough.
Thoroughly excellent as always.
What is an example of a "real salt" you refer to as one thing to get more of in your diet? Is that like Pink salt?
Its real if its not white and it clumps. Look up a salt mine and buy a big block and just shave as you need.
I've never heard that before.
Big block of stone salt is good to have on hand. Put a ~2kg piece of stone salt into a bowl of water so its half submerged in (clean!) water and keep it ~1m away from your head when you sleep. Its (not) magic ☻.
You can even use it as bait for hunting (apparently unethical) or wildlife photograph. People get an erection talking about pink salt and sea salt, your ancestors used simply local stone salt and were just fine. Except, well, perhaps, if its a coastal area. But then seawater is dirty, and im not even talking about the guy working the evaporation field not walking a mile to pee every time nature calls.
Real salts are unprocessed so that they retain all or most of their trace minerals. Redmond’s Real, Celtic sea salt, Pink Himalayan all qualify. Electrolyte supplements/powder only contain 4-5 of the trace minerals so, while they are better than nothing, they are not ideal. The best way to get the trace minerals is by using the real salts on your food and put a pinch of it in all the water you drink to stay hydrated.
Do you or any others here know about the Lead in Celtic salt lawsuit? Is this really a concern or is it meant to take down a good salt provider? https://www.classaction.org/news/class-action-lawsuit-claims-selina-naturally-celtic-sea-salt-contains-significant-levels-of-lead-arsenic
I'd love to know the answer to that question as well. Thanks for asking it.
I have also read information to that effect. According to the research I have done, this salt (to be found on Amazon) is the cleanest that has been tested. My apologies that I can’t post the link to the article. It’s somewhere in the annals of my health research! Original Himalayan Salt Crystal -... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A76UOI?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Sorry. Meant to say they tested Redmond's real salt which had high amounts of lead.
I think it's a real concern. Lead safe mama tested Celtic Sea salt too which had high amounts of lead. I can't remember which brand didn't have lead but it should be on her website.
thank you so much!
Huge factor.
There is a lot of evidence to show that the majority of high blood pressure is caused by extra weight on the body. And in my case in specific, losing 30 pounds returned my blood pressure to a totally normal range. So since then I have looked at several studies that show fasting and weight loss can reduce blood pressure in almost 100% of cases back to healthy ranges. This leads me to believe That the majority of people should just lose some weight. lol. No drugs required. I didn’t say it was “easy” but it comes with a lot of positive side effects, unlike the drugs.