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2024-11-11

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Cutting Salt, Not Flavor: Salt Substitutes Prove Effective in New Study (scitechdaily.com)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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This study sought to assess the effects of a salt substitute (62.5% NaCl, 25% KCl, and 12.5% flavorings) on incidence of hypertension and hypotension among older adults with normal blood pressure.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0735109723082633?via%3Dihub

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[–] [email protected] 68 points 9 months ago (4 children)

At the risk of coming off like I’m criticizing, wasn’t I told to substitute my choices of fats, with margarine, and low-fat alternatives that were instead laden with other problems ? Oh, and the sugar alternatives like aspartame, and Splenda?

Forgive my skepticism. But I’m much healthier after a decade of going back to butter, sugar, and less processed foods? My medical chart is all I need for confirmation of my choices.

Encouraging news though.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Margarine I can understand, but aspartame is likely the most rigorously studied food additive of all time. Anecdotally and in contrast to your experience, I've been healthier since I swapped sugar in drinks to artificial sweeteners. But if it works for you, the numbers are the numbers, so keep at it. I once lost 20 pounds over the course of a year in highschool by swapping my lunch for a pack of Twinkies. Turns out calories in<calories out works no matter what you eat.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 9 months ago

You can both be right, because trying to make more conscious health decisions is what actually made you healthier.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Aspartame itself is completely safe, but recent studies have found all artificial sweeteners have metabolic effects. It's not that the chemicals themselves are hazardous, as you say aspartame in particular has been very rigorously studied, but that it appears the body uses the sweet taste as a signal to change insulin production.

Is it better to have a diet pop than sugar pop? Definitely and I prefer Diet Coke these days, Classic feels like drinking syrup.

However it's even healthier just to drink water, or non-caloric, unsweetened drinks like coffee or tea. Soft drinks are supposed to be a treat and not a food group, I drink maybe one a week.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I'm curious on how different the effect is between unmetabolized sweeteners like Splenda and something that is metabolized like aspartame. But yeah, I'm baby stepping my way towards dropping sweeteners altogether after finally getting used to black coffee, I'm trying to acclimate to green tea. I don't think I'll ever be a hydro homie.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I'm not going to say you're wrong about aspartame being safe because I don't know for sufe, but I question whether you're right. The fact that Donald Rumsfeld was the CEO of the company that held the patent, couldn't get it approved then magically got it approved after his buddy Ronald Reagan appointed him to a position where he could do so makes me wonder if it ever should have been approved.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

It sounds like this is specifically for people with hypertension that require low sodium diets. In the case of someone who's already in a high risk category the calculus is probably a bit different.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

I agree. I finally talked to a nutritionist and learned what it actually means to "track my macros". Staying away from processed food is absolutely the key to healthier living.