The question of how much salt we should eat has become one of the biggest debates in the Paleo community—and it’s a debate that shouldn’t even exist. Some in the community have started to argue that not only is the standard U.S. recommendation to eat less than 2,300mg of sodium per day wrong, but that we should be eating double to triple that amount.
They also argue that as long as it’s sea salt and not table salt, it’s healthy. The problem with that notion is that most of the negative health effects of too much salt—high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and autoimmune disease—have to do with the same culprit: simple sodium chloride.And sodium chloride is the same whether it comes in the form of coarse pink colored crystals or refined white table salt.
Ultimately, most of the arguments supporting more salt in our diet are based on unproven theories and research that has been shown to have serious methodological flaws.
A few years ago, we addressed this question of a high-salt diet and the many negative effects it can have on our health. Since this is such an important question, with such a significant impact on our health, that it’s worth revisiting now. So, in this series, we dive further into the question of how much salt humans should consume. More importantly, in this series we address the other side of the equation—potassium.
Perhaps one of the most important, and overlooked, aspects of a healthy diet is the sodium:potassium ratio. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors typically ate a ratio between 1:5 and 1:10. The western diet is closer to 1:1 or even 2:1 sodium to potassium. The Paleo Diet®mimics this ancestral ratio. In our series, Mark J. Smith, Ph.D.,explains this ratio and why being closer to our hunter-gatherer ancestors is so important. Dr. Marc Bubbs takes it a step further, addressing several recent studies which show that increasing potassium in our diet can mitigate much of the negative impact of high sodium intake.
In our third article, Trevor Connor, M.S., addresses one of the arguments made to support a high salt diet—the belief that a low-sodium diet causes insulin resistance. Despite that popular claim, most current research shows the exact opposite.
Finally, if you are convinced that a sodium:potassium ratio closer to our ancestors is important for your health, then you may be wondering how to get more potassium in your diet. It’s simple: eat more fruits and vegetables. In this series we include a potassium-power house of a salad recipe to get you started.
