🚀 go-pugleaf

DonH <donlhumphries@bigpond.com> wrote:
> Seems there's been a campaign to reduce salt intake in the diet of humans, 
> as too much may cause or precipitate heart attack.
>  True, too much salt may be bad for you, but what is too much?  When we 
> perspire, salt is present in the water of our sweat, and replacement is 
> warranted.
>  Fat, like salt, is also frowned on by diet faddists, yet Eskimos exist (or 
> did) on a diet of nothing but fish, and seal meat.
[...]

And, of course, Inuit Greenlanders have the lowest life expectancy
of all identifiable groups in N America. There is some question whether
it's only due to a traditional fruit & veg- poor diet but prima facie
it's a red flag.

It's possible to estimate an optimum level of salt (i.e. NaCl rather
than the mixture that comes out in perspiration -- BTW a possible sign
the body needs to get rid of it :) using population statistics. Basically,
link levels of heat disease or even longevity with average salt  intake
across a  bunch of countries or states and find the "bump". 

5g per day is the recommended level based on review of studies of this type.
But it's only a guide. No doubt optimum level depends on numerous
factions like physical activity, gender, other dietary factors, overall
health, age, etc etc.

-- 
R Kym Horsell <kym@kymhorsell.com>

If your ideas are any good you'll have to ram them down people's throats. 
  -- Howard Aiken