YES. NEXT QUESTION? Has Salt Gotten An Unfair Shake?

Participants in a recent study with the highest intake of sodium and potassium actually had significantly lower blood pressure, according to an analysis presented earlier this year at the American Society for Nutrition’s Scientific Sessions meeting in Chicago. The group with the lowest blood pressure averaged a daily sodium intake of 3.7 grams a day, far higher than the guidelines suggest.

The findings echo those of a 2016 study published in The Lancet. The largest of its kind, the review looked at sodium intake and blood pressure data in over 130,000 individuals from 49 countries with varying degrees of salt consumption. Low sodium intake was defined as up to 3 grams a day, just shy of the 3.4 grams a day that Americans average. Four and 5 grams a day was considered “moderate” intake, and 7 or more grams a day as “high” consumption.

The authors found that populations with very low sodium intake seemed to have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and death than those with moderate intake. So did people on high-salt diets, but only those with high blood pressure in the first place. According to the data, moderate to high salt consumption in people with normal blood pressure did not appear to have the dire consequences that might have been presumed.

I don’t mind that the advice turned out to be wrong — that’s always a risk. I do mind the combination of nannyish condescenscion and moralizing with which all this wrong advice gets dispensed.