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Now it’s salt’s turn to be the bad guy

By Susan Salisbury, Cox Newspapers 3:04 PM Thursday, October 1, 2009

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Americans love to have something to blame for our diet woes.

For years, sugar — enemy to obese kids and adult diabetics alike — has filled that role. Then, the more trendy trans fats became the “bad guy.”

Now salt is feeling the heat, and rightly so. Most Americans consume more than double the daily recommended level of sodium, a major component of salt, a recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta found. The body can safely handle just 1,500 to 2,400 milligrams per day, or about a teaspoon.

The problem is, many of the processed foods and restaurant meals we consume already have added salt. Throw in something like the “Southern lifestyle” — channeling TV chef Paula Deen here — and you’ve got a recipe for a health disaster.

The American Heart Association, the National Institutes of Health and other similar groups say that high-salt diets contribute to high blood pressure and related illnesses, such as heart disease and stroke.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, says Richard Hanneman, president of the Salt Institute, an Alexandria, Va.-based trade group representing the global salt industry with more than 257 million tons of production in 2007.

“Lower salt diets are not healthier diets,” Hanneman said, citing studies that show a significant reduction in salt intake will lower blood pressure for one third to a half of the population. For one-fourth of the population, consuming less salt will raise blood pressure, he said.

He advises checking with your doctor before reducing salt intake and said there are unintended consequences of less salt, such as an increase in insulin resistance and higher risk of diabetes.

But for those who want to cut back, how do we pass on the salt?

A couple of New York City-based nutritionists — and twin sisters — Tammy Lakatos Shames and Lyssie Lakatos provide plenty of solutions in their new book “The Secret to Skinny” ($15.95), published by Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based Health Communications Inc.

“Salt makes your fat cells fatter, and makes you have more fat cells,” Shames said in a telephone interview from New York.

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