Did You Know Salt Reduces Stress?
People will often turn to food to help relieve stress, and there is a scientific reason: Salty snacks actually help your body reduce stress levels by reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol. New research published in the journal Appetite has confirmed the relationship between salt and stress in humans. Researchers found an inverse correlation between salt consumption and levels of depression and stress, especially in women. In essence, the body self-regulates to prevent stress and depression by making people crave salt. The researchers also found that young people, up to the age of 19, selectively choose foods that are higher in salt, indicating a natural feedback mechanism driving them to consume higher salt foods and rewarding them with more vigorous growth. – Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel
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Special Report: Salt Restriction No-Brainer?
At the recent World Cardiology Congress, the PURE-SODIUM analysis reignited the sodium debate by suggesting that most people do not need to cut their sodium intake and that low levels could be harmful. This Medscape Special Report presents several viewpoints and news stories related to that discussion. The viewpoints feature Dr. Graham MacGregor, who pioneered a national sodium restriction program in the United Kingdom; World Hypertension League President-Elect Dr. Dan Lackland on sodium in the food industry; and Dr. Lawrence Appel about the health risks associated with sodium and whether 1,500 milligrams a day is too low. – Medscape
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Diet and Blood Pressure: It’s Not All About the Salt
The whole diet, not any miracle food or sodium reduction alone, is the key to reducing blood pressure and potentially lowering a person’s risk for stroke, heart attack, kidney damage, and other diseases, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). The right diet also might help avoid the need for high blood pressure medication or mean a lower dosage. That message has been lost amid scientific arguments about the ideal amount of sodium for Americans to eat, says Lawrence Appel, director of the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research at Johns Hopkins. Studies show that dietary habits, including sodium intake, have a significant effect on blood pressure. According to AHA, the best diets are those that emphasize specific targets for key food groups, such as Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). In studies, people who ate the DASH diet without cutting sodium achieved lower blood pressures than those who ate typical American diets. Those who combined DASH with reducing sodium to 2,300 milligrams per day did even better; those who cut sodium to 1,500 milligrams per day did best. – USA Today
Blood Pressure Smarts
Eating well to help keep blood pressure in a healthy range is not just about reducing sodium. This article suggests tips to help bring blood pressure down naturally, including aiming for consuming twice as much potassium as sodium to blunt the effect of sodium on blood pressure, consuming low-fat or fat-free dairy, and staying as close to ideal body weight as possible. – EatingWell
Sea or Table, Shake the Salt Habit for Better Health, Says Dietitian
New salt products on the market may be exotic, cost more, and frequent the shelves of high-end stores, but they are just as harmful as common table salt. “Typically people opt for natural vs. processed to avoid preservatives such as sodium, but in this case, all salt is sodium,” said clinical dietitian Ashley Barrient. “Sea salt and table salt have an equivalent sodium content, despite sea salt being deemed less processed than table salt… From a health standpoint, sea salt and table salt should both be minimized and reserved for small indulgences here and there,” Barrient said. She also noted that many packaged and prepared foods have a large amount of sodium: “The more we cook at home, use fresh herbs and spices as opposed to processed, and visit farmers’ markets to buy fresh ingredients, the lower our sodium intake will be as a whole.” – ScienceDaily