Salt is worse than sugar, says Canada's leading sodium doctor
Here is a look at 5 ways salt can dash your healthy lifestyle
A decade ago, the low-carb, high-fat diet was all the rage. Then the world went gluten-free. Now everyone is quitting sugar.
But one Calgary doctor is reminding us not to forget about the other s-word — salt.
"[Sugar is] not of the same impact as salt and not associated with as many diseases. Salt is worse than sugar," said Dr. Norm Campbell with the University of Calgary's Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta.
He says a high sodium diet can wreak havoc on a healthy body in many different ways:
1. Hypertension
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease.
"In Canada, and indeed most Western countries, 90 per cent of us will develop hypertension," said Campbell, who is also the Chair in Hypertension Prevention and Control.
While not every person develop hypertension because of a salty diet, the risk is still high.
"About one-third of hypertension around the world is caused by excess dietary salt, so about 300 million people in the world have hypertension due to excess salt and over two million in Canada."
2. Rheumatoid arthritis and MS
Excessive salt consumption can also lead to autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis.
According to the U.S.-based Arthritis Foundation, people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may feel salt's effects even more as corticosteroids, which are commonly used to treat RA, cause the body to hold more sodium.
3. Migraines
While some bloggers maintain salt can help with migraines, Campbell said that's not what he has found.
4. Cancer
Many studies have found links between high sodium intake and gastric cancer.
Campbell says salt has also been associated with total cancer death renal cell cancer, a type of kidney cancer.
5. Obesity
Your grandparents are not the only demographic who would benefit from a low-salt diet.
"About 80 per cent of the salt that we eat is in processed foods," said Campbell.
He says one of the best ways to lower your sodium intake is to eat fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, seeds and lean meat and poultry.