I love Dr Greger's videos and podcasts but regarding the salt, I have the feeling everybody repeats like a mantra how dangerous salt is, but there are opposite opinions as well. According to a recent post by Dr Mercola, eating too little salt is a major health risk, and the important thing is the ratio of salt and potassium in our diet.
I just checked the package of my tortilla wraps. Per 64g serving at 230 cals, sodium is 460 mg. Wow! I eat a lot of whole foods and some processed, but this is eye opening. I can’t go without salt, but will be more careful now. Thanks Dr Gregor!
Get rid of my salt?! Noooo! I am addicted to it. Can't stop won't stop! 😂 All kidding aside, thankfully I am a long distance runner and especially in this summer heat, my body responds well to my high salt intake (~3-4g, mostly comes from my shaker as 80% of what I eat is plants, fruit). I imagine that my super high craving for it now is out of necessity. In the winter months, I again listen to my body and naturally seem to cut back. Labs all normal. My normally low BP is finally in a more normal range now too. Yay!
I decided to give up salt a few decades ago. At first everything tasted like cardboard but eventually I started noticing subtle flavors in my foods that I had never experienced before. That’s why I would disagree with Dr. Greger’s Advice to substitute other spices for salt. If you do that, you won’t have the experience of noticing the subtle flavors that are naturally found in foods that you’ve never taste before. You will also experience how terrible salty food really tastes If someone happens to offer you something with a lot of salt added.
4:43 - We all have low blood pressure here despite lots of salt, but autoimmunity runs in our families. Are there any plant foods that can specifically counteract the negative effect of salt on the helper 17 cells?
I went salt-free for a few years, but I started having dizzy spells. I went to the doctor, and my sodium level was (10 mmol!) too low. I intentionally add 1/2 teaspoon iodized salt to my daily diet, and my sodium levels are normal, and no more dizzy spells. I eat no other sources of added sodium, and my diet is 100% unprocessed plants. A salt-free diet simply isn't right for me.
Feeling dizzy is a joke, but cardiodynia is much worse while lifting real weight in the gym. You're rather better using a spice mix with 25 grams salt per 100g and adding that to your food. That way you have the taste and support normal kidney, heart, osmolarity and heck neural health.
What if we sweat a lot as athletes or we go to sauna every day ??? Without enough salt I'll get muscle spasms and won't be able to sleep at night ! Perplex ing!
If you were to sweat a lot as an athlete or go to the sauna every day, you would be more moist. Sweating a lot as an athlete and going to the sauna has been shown in studies to increase moistness by a percentage.
Wish these videos would add a quick mention that this many be different for athletes. It seems obvious to me now, but when I first started running, I rarely added salt (or drank electrolyte drinks) because of all the "too much salt is bad" news. But running 50+ miles per week, especially with sweating in summer heat, I needed WAY more salt (and calories!) than I was allowing.
@@lilitalia777Agreed, I run 80-100 miles a week, but I’m cautious on salt besides my very long runs or races. I need to get a sweat test done to see how much I lose sweating. I feel like I don’t lose much since I can run a full marathon with only gels and no liquids.
If you're sweating a lot, you'd better be taking in about 500 mg extra sodium per hour of intense training and sweating. For endurance athletes, (I'm a dietitian) I recommend about 2500 mg sodium per day, but CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR, to make sure that amount is appropriate for you.
And now I see an article today (8/30/24) with the title: "Surprise Discovery: Scientists Discover New Anti-Cancer Potential of Salt" Gotta love science! 😂
For the Mars simulator group on a "high-salt" diet, how high was it? 6 grams? 3 grams? Or was it 10 grams? How much salt would it take for a meal to be considered high salt? When does the amount become significant? Using terms like "low", "medium" and "high" salt leaves out important information.
I am not totally salt free, I do add it to pasta, but not much else and I buy no salt added bread. I went for my first Medicare physical 2 weeks ago and my blood pressure was 'too low' at 88/55. I felt just fine, so what is the normal range?
The low end of normal is 90/60 but to say that 92 is fine and 88 is too low isn't really taking other factors into account. Your BP will vary on account of many factors so that reading was indicative of that moment in time. Never mind the variation in testing-was it taken by a person with a stethoscope and cuff or a machine? How skilled was the person taking it and when was the machine last calibrated? Was your arm in the best position? Point being, those couple of points could be due to an error, the 90/60 is an arbitrary setpoint anyway and is 88/55 normal for you? Considering all the high readings they see day after day your reading may be atypical for the population in general but that doesn't mean it's bad. If you feel just fine and you aren't taking anything that causes a drop in BP my completely non-medical opinion is you're good.
A cardiologist would be happy to see 112 / 70, but lower isn't an issue unless you are symptomatic. By the time it gets truly too low you will be dizzy and fainting. If you were to go below 80 on the high number, I'd say that would indeed be problematic and you should get a medical evaluation.
88/55 is considered not safe or essentially you could possibly faint at any given moment and fall which is where the 'not safe' aspect comes from. And the worst is that it is uncontrollable, because it's controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which is all involuntary meaning the action potencial doesn't reach the higher centers which are located at the cerebrum- cerebral cortex.
Salt isnt an issue if you are eating whole foods. The reality is if salt is impacting your blood pressure its from lack of potassium not from too much salt
The YT inquisition is forbidding me from posting a comment on the "medical intervention" of 21-23. I suggest that your old update on nutritionfacts on the subject should be revised as is has proven to be otherwise than stated. Sorry for lack of clarity since youtube will delete my comment if i try to be more detailed..
Lemon and lime juice are great, or a tiny amount of salt plus juice (or juice and zest, if the fruit is organic and the skin is not coated with wax or anything else).
Pretty much. It has more varied minerals but it's still mostly sodium chloride. So the added minerals are good but you're still getting the bad. A varied diet will get you the minerals without the negatives.
The problem with these studies is that no one has tested the effects of having a low salt diet. The typical American thinking, either all or nothing! Salt is good for alkalizing your food. I put a few pinches in when I cook and it brings out the flavor. Adding a half a teaspoon of sea salt to four servings in my opinion, is not harmful, helps digestion and makes the dish more satisfying. I also have low blood pressure and having a little salt in my diet helps it from getting dangerously low.
I dont eat any processed foods at all. I eat a whole foods vegan diet that I prepare myself. I add salt. I often wonder if I am adding too much salt. How much do we actually need? Do I NEED to add salt? Oatmeal is pretty bland without it, but that may be because i am so used to the salt. If we were living off the land, naturally as we were intended, and we were not near the sea, where would we even get salt? Is adding salt at all a natural thing to do?
This is not salt related. I'll be 64 soon. I fell 4 weeks ago and broke my arm and shoulder. My request is a list of foods and possibly suppliments that could help me heal more quickly. My dog was the culpret of the fall. Any info yoy can share is appreciated. I do take a multivitamin, b12, vit d, i''m also on medication for rheumatoid arthritis. Thank you for your assistance, it is very much valued.
I used to be on a med that required me to keep my sodium up. At one point I went into hyponatremia and almost needed to be hospitalized. I was bringing saltines with me everywhere I went 😅
@@tracy9610 lol you know the struggle 😁 for me, it’s spironolactone / aldactone. Deletes my sodium and fluid. I have to drink a lot of water and eat some salty stuff to stay afloat
A lot of salt addicts on here. Also a lot of exercise addicts, lol. I have personally come to believe that hard core exercise is not really natural or healthy. I used to be a star cross country runner. It did nasty things to my body. I think it encourages people to eat too much salt and sugar and fat. My blood pressure went through the roof when I was a young runner. I was very thin and “in shape” but I was not at all healthy. I even developed seizures.
Well obviously it's bad for blood pressure etc but a little salt ( I can t say exactly how much, I think it depends on a gazillion factor s from person to person) is actually NECESSARY. I say that because after 2 years of strictly vegan (and mostly raw food) I ended up having low blood pressure and thyroid function which after much research I found out was easily remediable through a bit of salt and increase of water and I was recommended some fish but haven't fallen for it ( not yet😅)..... I think the whole fiasco of vegan lifestyle is that these tiny tests of micro nutrients like b12 , iodine etc are not so practical at least where I live. ... Anyone can relate?
There’s no reason you should worry about having lower blood pressure as long as you’re not fainting when you stand up. It’s actually healthy to have lower blood pressure and the average American. As for iodine, a teaspoon of Wakami each day gives you more than enough. Anyone who goes on a vegan diet needs to be aware of the amount of B12 they’re getting and supplement with it regularly. Dr. Gregor has many videos on this and he generally recommends a minimum of 50 µg a day or 2000 once a week
10 months of carnivore with no restrictions on added sodium. I'm adding more pink/sea salt to my food than ever, and never felt better. Dr David Brownstein addresses many of the accusations against salt. The real mystery to me is, how did this video end up in my feed?
Yesterday's news: salt is bad! Today's news (via Google): "Surprise Discovery: Scientists Discover New Anti-Cancer Potential of Salt". 😂 I'ma keep on keeping on with my salt.. 🧂🧂🧂🧂😋
Salt is important for athletes. It’s an electrolyte that is excreted during exercise. High blood pressure is from stiff arteries from high fat diets, lack of exercise, atherosclerosis, and not eating fruits and vegetables that keep cells healthy.
I know. I dropped all processed food, meat, eggs and dairy overnight and never skipped a beat but I'm kicking and screaming over going low salt. I'm trying salt substitute in cooking and just adding a small sprinkle of fine Kosher salt on my plate. The jury's still out.
The Father of Health in America, Dr Paul Bragg, always said, "Organic sodium from plants is one of the best cleansers of the body and inorganic sodium from rocks is one of the worst pluggers of the body." Sadly, when you're reading the composition on packaging labels, they do not differentiate between sodium from a plant and sodium from rocks. The difference is like night and day. Why do we need sodium? We need it for the sodium potassium ion exchange that makes our muscles move. It's always better to get your sodium from plants.
Processed food manufacturers need to hear from consumers that less ADDED chemicals, sugar, oil and salt is wanted in their food products. Why is there so much ADDED sugar in everything, even bread. That's just crazy Email, text, tweet or phone your favorite producer of poison and let them know consumers want less salt, oils and sugars in their products. Let their customer service department know that all the extra added salt, oil and sugar is not necessary or desired and is causing health issues. Reduce or eliminate highly processed food from your diet if you can.
It is there because it sells. People prefer the taste of foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat. It sells and foods without it don't. Just buy whole foods instead and bypass the packaged stuff.
Adding vinegar glaze to some dishes helps me a lot with not adding salt. Thanks Dr. G!
I love Dr Greger's videos and podcasts but regarding the salt, I have the feeling everybody repeats like a mantra how dangerous salt is, but there are opposite opinions as well. According to a recent post by Dr Mercola, eating too little salt is a major health risk, and the important thing is the ratio of salt and potassium in our diet.
I just checked the package of my tortilla wraps. Per 64g serving at 230 cals, sodium is 460 mg. Wow! I eat a lot of whole foods and some processed, but this is eye opening. I can’t go without salt, but will be more careful now. Thanks Dr Gregor!
Get rid of my salt?! Noooo! I am addicted to it. Can't stop won't stop! 😂 All kidding aside, thankfully I am a long distance runner and especially in this summer heat, my body responds well to my high salt intake (~3-4g, mostly comes from my shaker as 80% of what I eat is plants, fruit). I imagine that my super high craving for it now is out of necessity. In the winter months, I again listen to my body and naturally seem to cut back. Labs all normal. My normally low BP is finally in a more normal range now too. Yay!
I decided to give up salt a few decades ago. At first everything tasted like cardboard but eventually I started noticing subtle flavors in my foods that I had never experienced before. That’s why I would disagree with Dr. Greger’s Advice to substitute other spices for salt. If you do that, you won’t have the experience of noticing the subtle flavors that are naturally found in foods that you’ve never taste before. You will also experience how terrible salty food really tastes If someone happens to offer you something with a lot of salt added.
All of that is true.I bought a jar of gerkhins after staying off salt for a while.I never realised that they had any salt in let alone just how much.
Yeah, same experience. Lowered my blood pressure and increased my flavor tasting
Nothing is wrong in adding spices, stfu
4:43 - We all have low blood pressure here despite lots of salt, but autoimmunity runs in our families. Are there any plant foods that can specifically counteract the negative effect of salt on the helper 17 cells?
Goobie and Doobie just put out a good episode on salt and sweating.
I went salt-free for a few years, but I started having dizzy spells. I went to the doctor, and my sodium level was (10 mmol!) too low. I intentionally add 1/2 teaspoon iodized salt to my daily diet, and my sodium levels are normal, and no more dizzy spells. I eat no other sources of added sodium, and my diet is 100% unprocessed plants. A salt-free diet simply isn't right for me.
Feeling dizzy is a joke, but cardiodynia is much worse while lifting real weight in the gym. You're rather better using a spice mix with 25 grams salt per 100g and adding that to your food. That way you have the taste and support normal kidney, heart, osmolarity and heck neural health.
Watch How to heal your body Part 2 in Goobie & Doobie. He explains what happened to you
You are an inspiration. I do have questions that go unanswered, but maybe some day.
So appreciate this podcast. Thanks so very much for distilling and presenting this information to us!!!
What if we sweat a lot as athletes or we go to sauna every day ??? Without enough salt I'll get muscle spasms and won't be able to sleep at night ! Perplex ing!
If you get a headache during those activities, then you likely need more salt. Otherwise, you are probably fine or are consuming an excess amount.
If you were to sweat a lot as an athlete or go to the sauna every day, you would be more moist. Sweating a lot as an athlete and going to the sauna has been shown in studies to increase moistness by a percentage.
Wish these videos would add a quick mention that this many be different for athletes. It seems obvious to me now, but when I first started running, I rarely added salt (or drank electrolyte drinks) because of all the "too much salt is bad" news. But running 50+ miles per week, especially with sweating in summer heat, I needed WAY more salt (and calories!) than I was allowing.
@@lilitalia777Agreed, I run 80-100 miles a week, but I’m cautious on salt besides my very long runs or races. I need to get a sweat test done to see how much I lose sweating. I feel like I don’t lose much since I can run a full marathon with only gels and no liquids.
If you're sweating a lot, you'd better be taking in about 500 mg extra sodium per hour of intense training and sweating. For endurance athletes, (I'm a dietitian) I recommend about 2500 mg sodium per day, but CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR, to make sure that amount is appropriate for you.
oh man, what do we do with our fermented foods? Kimchi, kraut, etc?
That's what I want to know.
is it possible to make it at home without salt?
And now I see an article today (8/30/24) with the title: "Surprise Discovery: Scientists Discover New Anti-Cancer Potential of Salt" Gotta love science! 😂
For the Mars simulator group on a "high-salt" diet, how high was it? 6 grams? 3 grams? Or was it 10 grams? How much salt would it take for a meal to be considered high salt? When does the amount become significant? Using terms like "low", "medium" and "high" salt leaves out important information.
Should be in the references for the interested viewer. I believe he's trying to avoid information overload for the general audience
That's because he's fibbing here.
Thanks for the health tips.
I love these podcasts.
I am not totally salt free, I do add it to pasta, but not much else and I buy no salt added bread. I went for my first Medicare physical 2 weeks ago and my blood pressure was 'too low' at 88/55. I felt just fine, so what is the normal range?
The low end of normal is 90/60 but to say that 92 is fine and 88 is too low isn't really taking other factors into account. Your BP will vary on account of many factors so that reading was indicative of that moment in time. Never mind the variation in testing-was it taken by a person with a stethoscope and cuff or a machine? How skilled was the person taking it and when was the machine last calibrated? Was your arm in the best position? Point being, those couple of points could be due to an error, the 90/60 is an arbitrary setpoint anyway and is 88/55 normal for you?
Considering all the high readings they see day after day your reading may be atypical for the population in general but that doesn't mean it's bad. If you feel just fine and you aren't taking anything that causes a drop in BP my completely non-medical opinion is you're good.
A cardiologist would be happy to see 112 / 70, but lower isn't an issue unless you are symptomatic. By the time it gets truly too low you will be dizzy and fainting. If you were to go below 80 on the high number, I'd say that would indeed be problematic and you should get a medical evaluation.
88/55 is considered not safe or essentially you could possibly faint at any given moment and fall which is where the 'not safe' aspect comes from. And the worst is that it is uncontrollable, because it's controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which is all involuntary meaning the action potencial doesn't reach the higher centers which are located at the cerebrum- cerebral cortex.
Salt isnt an issue if you are eating whole foods. The reality is if salt is impacting your blood pressure its from lack of potassium not from too much salt
But if you're eating whole foods, there is no point of thinking about potassium.
@@jakebenson4187 wrong because it is potassium that balances out sodium and your blood pressure. You cannot get enough potassium from monocrops
My Sister is on HRT and her blood pressure dropped after three months with no dietary changes. How does Menopause affect blood pressure 😮
How do you feel about potassium chloride replacement? Like no salt and other?
According to previous videos, potassium salt is recommended as a replacement. Not recommended for putting on watermelon for him personally, though.
@@chiyerano awesome, thanks!
Potassium salts are DANGEROUS! Avoid avoid avoid!!!!
Its the temporary hyponatremia as my body adjusts that is the hardest part about cutting salt
The YT inquisition is forbidding me from posting a comment on the "medical intervention" of 21-23. I suggest that your old update on nutritionfacts on the subject should be revised as is has proven to be otherwise than stated. Sorry for lack of clarity since youtube will delete my comment if i try to be more detailed..
Does too much salt increase testicular cancer? We don't know...until we put it tooo...the testes.
😂
Lemon and lime juice are great, or a tiny amount of salt plus juice (or juice and zest, if the fruit is organic and the skin is not coated with wax or anything else).
Go read the salt fix.
1:06 - I don't believe it.
I don’t either lol 😂
It's true! I didn't think it would be either but I had no choice
Believe it or not, it is a fact indeed!
I don't want to believe it but it was true for me when it came to sugar and oil. So he's probably right but I just don't wanna.
@@RabbitWatchShop 😂😂
Is pink Himalayan salt just as bad as regular table salt?
Yes
Pretty much. It has more varied minerals but it's still mostly sodium chloride. So the added minerals are good but you're still getting the bad. A varied diet will get you the minerals without the negatives.
Salt in small amounts isn't bad.
The problem with these studies is that no one has tested the effects of having a low salt diet. The typical American thinking, either all or nothing! Salt is good for alkalizing your food. I put a few pinches in when I cook and it brings out the flavor. Adding a half a teaspoon of sea salt to four servings in my opinion, is not harmful, helps digestion and makes the dish more satisfying. I also have low blood pressure and having a little salt in my diet helps it from getting dangerously low.
You don't need to lower your salt, just raise your potassium.
Too much salt does cause harm. However, that is not to say that too little salt is good. A teaspoon a day is fine.
I dont eat any processed foods at all. I eat a whole foods vegan diet that I prepare myself. I add salt. I often wonder if I am adding too much salt. How much do we actually need? Do I NEED to add salt? Oatmeal is pretty bland without it, but that may be because i am so used to the salt. If we were living off the land, naturally as we were intended, and we were not near the sea, where would we even get salt? Is adding salt at all a natural thing to do?
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon a day is okay.
This is not salt related. I'll be 64 soon. I fell 4 weeks ago and broke my arm and shoulder. My request is a list of foods and possibly suppliments that could help me heal more quickly. My dog was the culpret of the fall. Any info yoy can share is appreciated. I do take a multivitamin, b12, vit d, i''m also on medication for rheumatoid arthritis. Thank you for your assistance, it is very much valued.
Follow his daily dozen
Fill up on beef and eggs. Plant toxins are not going to help you.
Time to start. Thank you.
Nope. I love MSG and salt too much. Besides, I need more than the average adult because of a specific med that depletes me of sodium lol.
MSG is a neurotoxin.
You don’t love it. It tricks your brain into thinking you love it; it literally triggers your taste pleasure center.
Good luck!
@@jordanvarbev ?
I used to be on a med that required me to keep my sodium up. At one point I went into hyponatremia and almost needed to be hospitalized. I was bringing saltines with me everywhere I went 😅
@@tracy9610 lol you know the struggle 😁 for me, it’s spironolactone / aldactone. Deletes my sodium and fluid. I have to drink a lot of water and eat some salty stuff to stay afloat
SOS, SALT, OIL and SUGAR ------processed foods and restaurant foods have too much of them.
Seems like too few people cook and eat at home.
A lot of salt addicts on here. Also a lot of exercise addicts, lol. I have personally come to believe that hard core exercise is not really natural or healthy. I used to be a star cross country runner. It did nasty things to my body. I think it encourages people to eat too much salt and sugar and fat. My blood pressure went through the roof when I was a young runner. I was very thin and “in shape” but I was not at all healthy. I even developed seizures.
Well obviously it's bad for blood pressure etc but a little salt ( I can t say exactly how much, I think it depends on a gazillion factor s from person to person) is actually NECESSARY. I say that because after 2 years of strictly vegan (and mostly raw food) I ended up having low blood pressure and thyroid function which after much research I found out was easily remediable through a bit of salt and increase of water and I was recommended some fish but haven't fallen for it ( not yet😅)..... I think the whole fiasco of vegan lifestyle is that these tiny tests of micro nutrients like b12 , iodine etc are not so practical at least where I live. ... Anyone can relate?
Ideally, what should be your sodium level in your blood work?
There’s no reason you should worry about having lower blood pressure as long as you’re not fainting when you stand up. It’s actually healthy to have lower blood pressure and the average American. As for iodine, a teaspoon of Wakami each day gives you more than enough. Anyone who goes on a vegan diet needs to be aware of the amount of B12 they’re getting and supplement with it regularly. Dr. Gregor has many videos on this and he generally recommends a minimum of 50 µg a day or 2000 once a week
@@paulcohen6727 thanks, what is wakami?
Seaweed
Are you sure it was salt and not iodine you are deficient in
10 months of carnivore with no restrictions on added sodium. I'm adding more pink/sea salt to my food than ever, and never felt better. Dr David Brownstein addresses many of the accusations against salt. The real mystery to me is, how did this video end up in my feed?
Yesterday's news: salt is bad! Today's news (via Google): "Surprise Discovery: Scientists Discover New Anti-Cancer Potential of Salt". 😂 I'ma keep on keeping on with my salt.. 🧂🧂🧂🧂😋
Salt is important for athletes. It’s an electrolyte that is excreted during exercise.
High blood pressure is from stiff arteries from high fat diets, lack of exercise, atherosclerosis, and not eating fruits and vegetables that keep cells healthy.
Actually, when we perspire, we lose mostly potassium and magnesium rather than sodium.
Potassium salt is important for athletes.
Old wives tale
I can do almost everything Dr. Gregor recommends, but I can't go low salt. I just can't.
I know. I dropped all processed food, meat, eggs and dairy overnight and never skipped a beat but I'm kicking and screaming over going low salt. I'm trying salt substitute in cooking and just adding a small sprinkle of fine Kosher salt on my plate. The jury's still out.
@@dianeladico1769 👍👍
Potassium citrate doesn't have a taste, but potassium chloride does. Why would I ever choose potassium chloride?
Potassium citrate is extremely bitter. It's disgusting. I take it you've never tried adding it to food
@@2GGop I just had 1/4 tsp on my lentil pasta.
No point of adding salt while/before cooking food. It's better to put on some salt after you make your tasty food.
Real salt is very good for you.
The Father of Health in America, Dr Paul Bragg, always said, "Organic sodium from plants is one of the best cleansers of the body and inorganic sodium from rocks is one of the worst pluggers of the body."
Sadly, when you're reading the composition on packaging labels, they do not differentiate between sodium from a plant and sodium from rocks. The difference is like night and day.
Why do we need sodium? We need it for the sodium potassium ion exchange that makes our muscles move. It's always better to get your sodium from plants.
Processed food manufacturers need to hear from consumers that less ADDED chemicals, sugar, oil and salt is wanted in their food products.
Why is there so much ADDED sugar in everything, even bread. That's just crazy
Email, text, tweet or phone your favorite producer of poison and let them know consumers want less salt, oils and sugars in their products.
Let their customer service department know that all the extra added salt, oil and sugar is not necessary or desired and is causing health issues.
Reduce or eliminate highly processed food from your diet if you can.
It is there because it sells. People prefer the taste of foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat. It sells and foods without it don't. Just buy whole foods instead and bypass the packaged stuff.
So much misnformation. He needs to learn from Dr Berg. They are playing with people's lives here.
Go back to Pakistan