Salt.In addition to inspiring Angelina Jolie to make some pretty middling career choices, it has built empires and moved mountains. Hell, in some cases, it is mountains. In addition to being a pretty apt metaphor for the human condition as a whole, our flakey, crystalline buddies seem to be facing biblical levels of animosity, unlike any experienced in its roughly eight millennia or so of widespread implementation.That is, until last Thursday.That's right, Interwebs! A University of Iowa study published in Scientific Reports just might bring to a close the age of salt-related dissent. And before you yank the hair out of your now vacant gourd, lamenting the loss of everything you once held to be true, they aren't saying you should start double-fisting boxes of Morton's or realize your plans for a human-sized salt lick in your closet.In fact, they aren't even saying that salt isn't bad for you. Just not nearly as bad as we previously thought.So, what's the deal?Well, the Iowa researchers went into their labs with a theory—call it the "French fry theory." It was a hypothesis that fat and salt, when paired together, would increase food consumption and thus promote weight gain. This hypothesis, though, turned out to be completely bunk."We found out that our 'French fry' hypothesis was perfectly wrong," said study co-author, Justin L. Grobe, who also is a fellow of the American Heart Association.This failure led to an astonishing breakthrough: levels of salt consumption actually have a significant effect on digestive efficiency levels, or the percentage of fat absorbed into the body. In other words, salt can help you eat a high-fat diet without gaining weight!The researchers began by feeding several groups of mice normal and high-fat foodstuffs, with varying levels of salt—from .25 to 4 percent. The mice on the high-fat diet with the lowest level of salt gained the most weight—about 15 grams over the 16 week period. No surprise there.What astounded the researchers, however, was this: the mice subjected to a high-fat diet with the highest levels of salt had low weight gain. Their weight gain was so low that it was similar to the control group of mice eating normal chow, about 5 grams."The findings . . . suggest that public health efforts to continue lowering sodium intake may have unexpected and unintended consequences." explained Grobe.And that's an important finding. Why? Well, the US Food and Drug Administration is right now thinking of lowering its daily sodium consumption recommendations from 2,400 mg to as low as 1,500 mg, which is just a little more than half a teaspoon of salt.And New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wants salt content printed on menus in many of the metropolis's restaurants, as a warning against overconsumption.So, what gives? Is salt bad for you or is salt good for you?Recent studies—in addition to this latest one—seem to be trending in the "it's actually not so bad for you" direction.In a 2013 study, an expert committee commissioned by the Institute of Medicine at the behest of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that there was no reason for recommended levels of sodium to drop below 2,300 milligrams per day.Still, sodium is associated with plenty of health risks, including cardiovascular trouble, blood pressure craziness, and kidney problems.What we do know from this latest study is that salt—a non-caloric dietary nutrient— seems to perform a sleight of hand: you can eat fat, and you won't fully absorb it if you salt it heavily."The major takeaway is that non-caloric nutrients can have an important effect on absorption of calories, but there is still a lot of work to be done," say the Iowa scientists.My advice: get your Smaug on and sleep atop a throne/dog bed made entirely of Epsom salt. That, or start hanging out at a yacht club and make sure to lick with vigor every exposed surface.Regardless, good job calling the future, Salt-N-Pepa.
Advertisement
Advertisement