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(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 03, 2011 ) WASHINGTON – U.S. Dietary Guidelines on sodium should be withdrawn and government plans to regulate salt consumption halted because the process has been compromised by conflict of interest and a disregard for a decade of peer-reviewed scientific studies.
A 17-page letter by the Salt Institute, delivered Monday, calls upon the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services to abandon the sodium provisions in the governmentÂ’s U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
“The Dietary Guidelines on sodium should be withdrawn and all legislative or or regulatory actions based on them reversed or halted in order to protect the health of Americans,” said Salt Institute President Lori Roman. “These Guidelines have made a mockery of the law through a process compromised by conflict of interest and a complete disregard for numerous scientific studies that point out the dangers of a low-salt diet. They are in violation of the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act.
“To survive and thrive, the body needs salt. That’s a medical fact. But the official food policy of our federal government aims to radically reduce salt levels, violating the medical mandate to `first, do no harm.’ We oppose 300 million Americans being treated like lab rats in a risky trial.”
Documented with 69 footnotes, the letter asserts that:
Federal law is being violated: The National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act requires the Dietary Guidelines to be based on the “the preponderance of the scientific and medical knowledge” current at the time. Rather than thoroughly assessing the latest scientific and medical knowledge on sodium, the agencies reached a conclusion in 2005 based on insufficient evidence and then repeated the error in 2010.
Science on salt is being ignored: Government bureaucrats are ignoring science that does not conform to their agenda by failing to consider the negative health impacts of sodium reduction in diets, failing to address that there is a physiological sodium appetite, and failing to address conflicting evidence on the impact of sodium on blood pressure and obesity.
Public health is being risked: The dangerously low salt intake recommended by the government would put Americans at a level never seen in any country. If implemented, the governmentÂ’s guidelines would put Americans in a clinical trial without their knowledge and consent -- with potentially fatal consequences.
Links:
-- Letter to HHS and FDA delivered Monday (pdf):
http://salt.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?14472x78538x19736
-- One-page fact sheet on the health benefits of salt and the risks of low-sodium diets (pdf):
http://salt.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?14472x78537x17484
ABOUT THE SALT INSTITUTE: Based in Alexandria, VA, the Salt Institute is a trade association promoting responsible uses of salt, particularly for roadway safety, nutrition and water quality. See saltinstitute.org or call 703-549-4648. For more on salt and health, see salthealth.org.
Salt Institute
Mark O'Keefe
703-549-4648
mark@saltinstitute.org 
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