We humans love salt. As if it were magical pixie dust, it transforms food and almost always makes it taste better. Scientists aren’t exactly sure where our love for salt comes from, and whether it’s a product of ‘nature’ or ‘nurture’.
A worldwide study of salt consumption, conducted in 1988 and published in the UK-based medical journal The BMJ (previously known as the British Medical Journal), proposed that we are born with a taste for salty foods. The study found that people all across the planet (except isolated tribes where salt was not easily available) consumed more or less the same amount of sodium.
However, the scientific community and even regular folk now know that too much salt is bad for you. High salt intake is known to lead to heart attack, stroke and even death. It’s why the World Health Organisation (WHO), the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other organisations around the world have agreed to work to reduce global intake of salt by a relative 30 per cent by 2025.
just limiting our salt intake has been identified as one of the most cost-effective measures countries can take to improve their population’s health, according to WHO’s website. And some food companies in the US, such as Kraft and PepsiCo, have pledged to voluntarily reduce sodium across their products.
But staying away from the salt shaker may be harder for some than others.
A 2010 study by the US-based Pennsylvania State University, published in the journal Physiology and Behaviour, found that people who are supertasters, are genetically wired to love salt. Taste sensitivity is genetic, and researchers found it may partly depend on the number of tiny bumps on your tongue, called papilla, that house your taste buds. You can even see how many papillae you have, by painting your tongue with a cotton swab dipped in some blue food dye.Supertasters have far more papillae than non-tasters. They need less fat and sugar to satisfy their cravings, and experience tastes such as saltiness and bitterness more intensely than others. So, they may have a difficult time with low-sodium alternatives.
Salt, also known as sodium chloride, is about 40% sodium and 60% chloride. It flavors food and is used as a binder and stabilizer. It is also a food preservative, as bacteria can’t thrive in the presence of a high amount of salt. The human body requires a small amount of sodium to conduct nerve impulses, contract and relax muscles, and maintain the proper balance of water and minerals. It is estimated that we need about 500 mg of sodium daily for these vital functions. But too much sodium in the diet can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. It can also cause calcium losses, some of which may be pulled from bone. Most Americans consume at least 1.5 teaspoons of salt per day, or about 3400 mg of sodium, which contains far more than our bodies need.
Recommended Amounts
The U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes state that there is not enough evidence to establish a Recommended Dietary Allowance or a toxic level for sodium (aside from chronic disease risk). Because of this, a Tolerable Upper intake Level (UL) has not been established; a UL is the maximum daily intake unlikely to cause harmful effects on health.
Guidelines for Adequate Intakes (AI) of sodium were established based on the lowest levels of sodium intake used in randomized controlled trials that did not show a deficiency but that also allowed for an adequate intake of nutritious foods naturally containing sodium. For men and women 14 years of age and older and pregnant women, the AI is 1,500 milligrams a day.
A Chronic Disease Risk Reduction (CDRR) Intake has also been established, based on the evidence of benefit of a reduced sodium intake on the risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Reducing sodium intakes below the CDRR is expected to lower the risk of chronic disease in the general healthy population. The CDRR lists 2,300 milligrams a day as the maximum amount to consume for chronic disease reduction for men and women 14 years of age and older and pregnant women. Most people in the U.S. consume more sodium than the AI or CDRR guidelines.
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