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releases 16/03/2005 Salt - US Experts Attack UK Government Policy
What if the UK government is wrong on salt? The prospect that the Food Standards Agency’s £4 million Sid the Slug campaign is based on inaccurate interpretation of science will be raised at a conference in London today (16 March). Dr David McCarron, one of the world’s leading experts on the effects of nutrition on hypertension, will tell delegates that latest research in the United States confirms that it is mineral deficiency rather than sodium intake that is the main influencer in high blood pressure.
He will also tell the conference Nutrition advice – debating the science behind the policies that advice received by the FSA has been “heavily flawed”. “Unfortunately the science cited by consultants to the FSA has failed to note the advances in nutritional sciences that have occurred,” he said. “As an example, the classic intervention trials of salt loading and restriction, which UK scientists highlighted in pressing the FSA to act, were actually carried out on patients whose diet was poor in quality. “This fact was documented by low levels of potassium in these individuals’ urine, which is a widely accepted marker of inadequate fruit, vegetable and dairy intake. These oversights by British researchers were compounded by Professor Graham MacGregor when, in his summary of the data last year, he failed to include data from the most prominent study, the DASH sodium trial from the US. “This study demonstrated unequivocally that even in subjects with high blood pressure and at increased risk of exhibiting sensitivity to salt, their blood pressure was uninfluenced by salt intake as long as their fruit, vegetable and dairy intake was sufficient. “ Dr McCarron’s verdict is consistent with a recent analysis of survey data on blood pressure and nutrient intake from more than 20,000 adults in National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys in the US over the past 20 years. Along with colleagues from the University of California at Davis, Dr. McCarron published these findings this month in the American Journal of Hypertension. These findings clearly show a direct link between inadequate mineral consumption and high blood pressure, a finding consistent with numerous other reports and recently highlighted in the new dietary guidelines in the US. Exploring this relationship further, the research team looked more closely at systolic hypertension (accounting for some about 60 per cent of those with hypertension). This revealed not just that the blood pressure effect of low mineral intake was most pronounced in this group, but that sodium intake was significantly lower. “This highlights the fact that the real challenge for governments across the world if they want to tackle high blood pressure is to improve overall dietary quality by increasing consumption of low-fat dairy foods, fruit and vegetables,” says McCarron. “If we get that right then the need for drug treatment of hypertension will be greatly reduced as will the current irrelevant obsession with salt.” Speaking at the same conference will be Richard Hanneman, president of the Salt Institute, a U.S.-based trade association of salt manufacturers including most British salt producers. In his presentation, Hanneman will focus on the ultimate question: by lowering our salt intake, will we live any longer? As Hanneman explains: "Many studies have concentrated on the relationship between salt and blood pressure, but no proper trials have examined the link with morbidity.The concern with raised blood pressure is that it could lead to a heart attack or stroke. But not all means of lowering our blood pressure have a positive effect on our risk of cardiovascular disease. While modern drugs have been found to be effective on each count, there is evidence that lowering our salt intake could actually increase cardiovascular problems." Hanneman feels advocates of salt reduction should conduct a proper, clinical trial to test the health outcomes of low-salt diets. However, he will refer to the only health outcomes studies available: 12 observational studies, eight of which found no population benefit for low-salt diets and three of which identified additional risks of low-salt diets. ends
Media contacts (for David McCarron and Dick Hanneman): Barrie Hedges, Daybreak Communications 0845 644 3845 (for conference): Stephamie Whitmore (Society of Food Hygienen Technology) 07854 397892
1 The conference Nutrition advice – debating the science behind the policies has been organised jointly by the Society of Food Hygiene Technology and the Royal Society of Chemistry at The English Heritage Lecture Theatre in Savile Row, London W1. 2 SOFHT chairman Neil Griffiths says of the conference: “We believe that a proper debate about the use of salt, sugar and fat in food is long overdue and as a result, SOFHT and The Royal Society of Chemistry have taken the lead to make it happen. Both societies are concerned that there has been little in-depth discussion into the science (much of which is contradictory) behind the policies that have been formulated and are concerned about some of the advice, particularly on the reduction of salt – which can be used as a preservative – that may have an adverse affect on food safety. 3 Dr. McCarron is a visiting professor with the Department of Nutrition, University of California-Davis and former Head of the Nephrology Division at Oregon Health & Science University. He is President of Academic Network, LLC, a healthcare communication company in Portland Oregon. An internationally recognized authority on the role of dietary nutrients in cardiovascular disease, Dr. McCarron has served as a consultant, investigator, media contact, and medical board member/chairman to numerous private and public organizations over the past 25 years. Most recently, he received the International Award for Modern Nutrition 2004 which is given in recognition for outstanding research contributions to our understanding the role of nutrition in hypertension. He is the author of more than 250 scientific publications, over 500 scientific papers at research meetings and serves on the editorial boards of several professional journals. 4 Richard Hanneman has been president, for the past 18 years, of the Salt Institute, a U.S.-based trade association of salt manufacturers including most British salt producers.
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