Nutrition Unscrambled

Taking Sodium with a Grain of Salt

By Marcia Greenblum, MS, RD
June 10th, 2011

Hi Readers!  Today we have one of our Registered Dietitian Advisors, Amy Campbell, blogging.  Enjoy!

~Marcia

Has sodium been getting a bad rap?  A new study would have you believe so. As a dietitian who has worked with hundreds of people who have diabetes and/or heart disease, I’ve probably talked myself blue about the importance of cutting back on sodium.  The reality is that it’s hard to eat less. Wouldn’t it be great if we could start shaking salt on our foods again or reach for a handful of potato chips without feeling twinges of guilt?

 To be fair, sodium isn’t all that bad.  After all, it’s needed to help regulate fluid balance in the body.  And our kidneys do a great job of controlling how much sodium we keep in our bodies, excreting any in the urine.  But in the even that your kidneys aren’t working so well (maybe due to diabetes, for example), sodium tends to stick around, making it harder for your heart to pump and raising blood pressure. 

 The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans tell us that we’re supposed to reduce our sodium intake to less than 2300 milligrams (mg) per day – that’s about a teaspoon of salt. Most of us consume at least 3400 mg per day.  If you happen to be over the age of 51, and or African American or have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease (which is about half of the American population) your goal is no more than 1500 mg per day.  Most of our sodium comes from processed foods such as cold cuts, hot dogs, canned soup, cheese and pizza.  Even some cereals, salad dressings and desserts are surprisingly high in sodium.

 A study published in the May 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association begs to differ with the whole notion that too much sodium can cause problems. The authors of this study followed almost 3,700 European men and women for eight years, measuring urine sodium excretion, blood pressure and cardiac events, such as heart attack, heart failure and stroke. The results? The people who excreted the lowest amount of sodium in their urine were 56% more likely to die from heart disease compared to those excreting higher amounts of sodium.  (Keep in mind that the more sodium you consume, the more you lose in your urine). And the amount of sodium excreted seemed to have little effect on blood pressure. 

 These findings go against the grain of what dietitians, physicians and other health professionals have been telling us for years: too much sodium may raise blood pressure, which in turn, may increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.  But, as with many studies, there were some weaknesses with the study, including a small sample size and the fact that other factors weren’t considered, such as physical activity and calorie intake. 

 What does this mean for you?  It’s hard to ignore the many other, well-designed studies linking a high sodium intake with high blood pressure.  And since one in three Americans has high blood pressure, it makes sense, at least at this time, to cut back on sodium, along with reaching a healthy weight and fitting in more physical activity. So, as tempting as it may be to reach for the salt, my advice is to keep the salt shaker in the cupboard and grab the pepper mill instead!



An Egg A Day is OK

By Mitch Kanter, Ph.D.
March 2nd, 2011

Most of you have probably seen or heard some of the highlights of the recently released 2010 Dietary Guidelines. With respect to healthy meal patterning, the Guidelines heavily stressed the inclusion of nutrient dense foods in the diets- foods that give you lots of nutrients, and not a lot of calories – foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and eggs. The Guidelines also indicate that we should de-emphasize the use of solid fats (mainly saturated and trans fats), simple sugars, refined grains and sodium. Nothing earth-shattering here, but a good reminder that the “4 S’s” (solid fats; starches; sugars; salt) can wreak havoc on our diet and our health if eaten in excess.

From an Egg Nutrition Center perspective, we were heartened to see that the Guidelines, for the first time, actually indicate that eating an egg-a-day is OK. No doubt that this was an acknowledgment that eggs are a great source of high quality protein, and a great nutrient dense food.  Likely factoring into this conclusion as well were studies such as those by Qureshi et al (Med Sci Monitor. 2007; 13:CR1-8)   which indicated that regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke or cardiovascular diseases; and Lee et al. (Brit Nutr Found 2006; 31:21-27) which indicate that eating eggs daily does not have significant impact on blood cholesterol or heart disease risk.

Often overlooked by the public, the Dietary Guidelines offer a treasure trove of good information about diet, health and nutrition in easy-to-understand language. If you’re interested, you can access the Guidelines via this link: 2010 Dietary Guidelines.

 It’s worth a look-see.



About

Nutrition Unscrambled  is written by nutrition experts with the Egg Nutrition Center, which is funded by the American Egg Board. It is monitored and maintained by the public relations agency of record. The mission of the Egg Nutrition Center is to be a credible source of nutrition and health science information and the acknowledged leader in research and education related to eggs. For more information, click here.

About the Bloggers

Mitch Kanter, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Egg Nutrition Center. For more information about
Mitch, click here.
Marcia Greenblum, MS, RD is the Senior Director, Nutrition Education at the Egg Nutrition Center. For more information about Marcia, click here.
Anna Shlachter, MS, RD, LDN is the Program Manager, Nutrition Research and Communications at the Egg Nutrition Center. For more information about Anna, click here.

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Disclaimer

All information provided within this blog is for informational and educational purposes only and it is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your physician or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health or before making changes to your diet or health behaviors.