"Low-carb diet requires more salt" and "High-salt diet makes Nordic people healthier"? Misunderstanding is too deep

Recently, a blogger posted a short video on a social platform saying: "People who adopt a low-carb diet need to add more salt." He took the Nordic region where he lives as an example. Nordic people live longer because of the popularity of high-salt and high-fat diets. structure. The blogger further explained, “A low-carb diet involves consuming less carbohydrates and more fat. The function of sugar is to lock water in the body. Low carbohydrate intake will reduce the blood sugar content in the blood, which is originally locked by sugar. This part of the water will be discharged from the body. Excessive water discharge will take away the electrolytes in the body. Therefore, people who adopt low-carb and ketogenic diets can easily lose the electrolytes in their bodies due to the loss of water, so they should pay attention to replenishing them. Electrolytes. In other words, if you adopt a low-carb diet, you can theoretically eat saltier than normal people.”

As we all know, eating too much salt can not only induce high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, but also increase the risk of cancer. So, after eating more fat, can we eat more salt?

Li Shuguang, a professor at the Nutrition and Food Hygiene Teaching and Research Section of the School of Public Health at Fudan University, said, no, and these are two different things.

First of all, the main function of carbohydrates is to provide energy for the body, and there is no so-called "water locking" function; secondly, replenishing electrolytes is not just replenishing salt. The macroelements of electrolytes include: potassium, sodium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, etc. Water electrolyte balance refers to the balance of these macroelements; sodium intake also has a certain range, and too little sodium intake can lead to muscle weakness; sodium Excessive intake of sodium can induce high blood pressure, because sodium is irritating to blood vessels and increases the contraction of blood vessels. Excessive contraction of blood vessels can lead to high blood pressure. The opinions of these so-called "popular science bloggers" may not be professional, so please don't believe them easily.

"Love game, thirst for blood, good at pickling, and strong taste" used to be the label of Nordic food. Although Nordic countries are rich in seafood resources, they generally lack sunshine and the climate is extremely cold, so for several months a year Neither can work. The Nordic people had no choice but to preserve food by pickling, fermenting, smoking, etc. In other words, the "high-salt and high-fat" eating habits were passively formed.

However, the dietary habits of excessive intake of sodium and saturated fatty acids and insufficient intake of vegetables have caused great pain to the Nordic countries. Data show that from the post-World War II era to the 1960s and 1970s, Finland was a country with a high incidence of cardiovascular disease. Chronic diseases caused by diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc. caused young Finnish adults to die prematurely or become disabled. The problem lies in Finnish people’s dietary structure and lifestyle. Since the 1980s, Finnish food companies have promoted the use of low-sodium and high-potassium mineral salts instead of traditional sodium salts to reduce the sodium content in food. In the 1980s, Sweden launched the "Green Key" label. Foods with the Green Key label represent low-fat, low-salt and low-sugar, and consumers can eat them with confidence. In recent years, Finnish food labels have implemented "traffic light" markings. Foods with extremely high salt content are marked in red on the packaging; those with slightly higher salt content are marked in yellow; and those with low salt content are marked in green. It is due to the continuous and unremitting efforts of the Nordic governments that health problems caused by unhealthy eating habits have been greatly reduced.

Nowadays, the Nordic diet has long shed the label of "high salt and high fat". In addition to traditional meat, there are many artificially grown organic vegetables and freshly picked fruits and vegetables on the table. The "New Nordic Food Style" emphasizes sustainability and seasonality, and mostly consists of deep-sea fish rich in unsaturated fatty acids such as finfish, dace, and salmon; fresh berries that are abundant locally such as blueberries, blackberries, mulberries, and raspberries; and kale. , celery root and other cultivated vegetables.

The advocacy of “controlling salt and oil and increasing fruits and vegetables” continues to advance in Northern Europe. In June 2023, the Nordic Council of Ministers released the sixth edition of the nutrition recommendations "Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023 - Integrating Environmental Factors". The "2023 Nordic Nutrition Recommendations" propose that a plant-based diet should be promoted. Diets based primarily on plant foods are generally lower in energy and higher in micronutrients than diets based on animal foods. It is recommended to increase the intake of vegetables, fruits, legumes, potatoes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and fish; to reduce the intake of red meat, processed meat, and foods containing high amounts of added fat, salt, sugar, and alcohol. quantity. Specific possible measures include: using whole grains instead of refined grains, using vegetable oils and vegetable oil fats instead of butter, using low-fat dairy products instead of high-fat dairy products, and reducing the intake of red and processed meats. The "2023 Nordic Nutrition Recommendations" recommends that the appropriate daily intake of sodium per person is 1.5 grams.

In fact, salt control is advocated all over the world. According to the eating habits of the Chinese people, the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2022" recommends that adults consume no more than 5 grams of salt per day; it is recommended to reduce salt and oil, control sugar and alcohol, cultivate light eating habits, and eat less high-salt and fried food food. The Shanghai Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reminded through its official public account that a long-term diet high in sodium and potassium deficiency can easily induce high blood pressure and heart disease. It is recommended that patients with high blood pressure and heart disease should eat more vegetables and fruits rich in potassium and less food rich in sodium. For high-fat meat, eat low-sodium salt appropriately.