In one of this month’s feature articles, a topic is covered—sodium—that’s highly controversial…but only because the actual controversy has been manufactured. The science of sodium and health has been a soapbox issue of mine for two decades, and I can tell you exactly how it started: In late 1995, as a recent dietetics and nutrition science graduate, I was preparing to write a comprehensive anti-salt article. The DASH II study had recently been released and rapidly became a touchstone of salt science. But, something caught my eye: The study authors’ conclusion didn’t square up with the actual results.
Reading and rereading the paper, it was clear that the differences between the groups studied and measurements of sodium intake and blood pressure, although statistically significant, did not show clinical significance. In fact, not only were the blood pressure measurements for the high-sodium group among the least affected by sodium intake, the measurements were well within the margins of error typical to a standard sphygmomanometer used in a clinic setting.