Read the article even if 'salt' doesn't seem exciting. One can see why this article won the 1999 award from the National Association of Science Writers. It does a tremendous job of explaining a complex controversy.
For me, the parallel with global warming is uncanny: locked in camps looking at the same data, coming to opposite conclusions, and accusing the other of being blinded by bias.
Searching now for other things Gary Taubes has written...
Taubes has definitely made a name for himself researching and reporting on bad science. After the parent article, he set his sights on nutrition in general:
Before all of that that, he wrote "Bad Science: The Short Life and Weird Times of Cold Fusion" and "Nobel Dreams: Power, Deceit and the Ultimate Experiment"
I have found that good quality sea salt is critical my personal health. (I have a genetic disorder and have used food as a primary means to get healthy.) My kids and I refer to table salt as "industrial salt". We buy it to scrub mold from the sink and similar household uses. We don't consider edible anymore. A good quality sea salt has a high percentage of other minerals, not just sodium chloride. I have found the presence of those other minerals changes the way my body relates to sodium chloride and has, over time, changed the way my body works, very much for the better.
Particularly interesting article in light of the recent attempts to ban salt in restaurants in NYC (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/11/new-york-restaur...). The more government gets involved with health care, the more attempts we'll have by fascists like the Democrat Ortiz to control people. Perhaps the state should focus on avoiding bankruptcy, rather than limiting the salt intake of adults.
Wow, I am a flaming liberal, and normally I don't even think twice about general trolling by politicians like this, but that is ridiculous. Have these guys ever cooked anything in their entire life that wasn't labeled "Chef Boyardee?"
Salt has more properties than just something you sprinkle on-top to get more "flavor." Some basic foods that require salt as a functional ingredient: bread (including cakes, muffins, bagels, etc) where it regulates yeast activity, cheese, brined poultry (the only poultry worth eating if you ask me), marinated meats, cured meats. Pasta and most vegetables also taste very bland unless they're infused with salts during cooking to bring out their flavors.
I would even argue that half of the art of cooking is when and how to salt things properly.
Just yesterday I saw an episode of Good Eats where Alton Brown talked about many different kinds of salt, something I was only vaguely aware of previously. There a number of Good Eats episodes that talk about salt in general. Anyone who is only cooking things labeled Chef Boyardee would do themselves some good to spend some time on youtube and the food network's website.
Heh, according to this link, Chef Boyardee 99% Fat Free Beef Ravioli (picked at random) has 37% of the minimum daily requirement of sodium.
attempts to ban salt in restaurants – not true, this stupid bill which will never see a vote or chance of passage, only bans the cooks from adding it. It would put the salt under control of the diner at the table.
limiting the salt intake of adults – Nothing in this asinine bill to limit the salt intake of adults. It simply puts the adults in control of it.
It's a dumb enough bill without make it sound dumber. It was read once and has been referred to the Committee on Health where it will presumably die, probably to polite laughter.
(I am a tiny bit sympathetic toward people whose doctors have told them to lower sodium or die and are wondering if that bowl of chicken noodle soup will kill them. But I want my food cooked in salt.)
"not true, this stupid bill which will never see a vote or chance of passage, only bans the cooks from adding it. It would put the salt under control of the diner at the table."
Do you even cook? Salt added while cooking brings out the taste of food. Salt added afterwards makes food taste salty. I guess with soups this wouldn't occur, but otherwise it makes a big difference.
There's actually no evidence that eliminating salt lowers blood pressure more than a tiny amount. Sea salt, with its trace minerals, actually lowers blood pressure when it's added to the diet. It's much better for you for other reasons too, well worth the extra money.
"not true, this stupid bill which will never see a vote or chance of passage, only bans the cooks from adding it. It would put the salt under control of the diner at the table."
That is amazing. The cook, who presumably has some knowledge of reasonable use of salt, cannot use it to create proper tasting food. The customer then has add salt to correct the poor flavor, and will likely do so with little subtlety.
It's as if the plan was to trick people into consuming more salt.
For me, the parallel with global warming is uncanny: locked in camps looking at the same data, coming to opposite conclusions, and accusing the other of being blinded by bias.
Searching now for other things Gary Taubes has written...