Hawaiian red salt enhances ahi tuna tartare.
The other day I was picking up parts of a conversation on "The Today Show" between host Ann Curry and nutrition specialist Joy Bauer where the same myths about salt were presented.
I was in a hotel room, but if I had my Himalayan pink rock salt on hand, I might have lobbed it at the screen.
In many people's minds, salt and high blood pressure are inextricably linked. I realize that some people need to avoid salt for health reasons, and that prepared foods can give us an inordinate and unneeded dose of sodium, but let's not be alarmist and offer half truths.
A few years ago, a friend of mine went on the Ornish diet after a bypass heart surgery. He cut out the fat and was worried about whether he should restrict salt. He went to one of the doctor's weeklong workshops at the Claremont Hotel in Oakland, and a few days into the seminar he asked Dr. Ornish about whether he should avoid salt.
That's something that often isn't communicated. According to the American Heart Association, one in three adults are plagued by high blood pressure. Various journals and health Web sites estimate that 20 to 40 percent of these people are sodium-sensitive — meaning that excess sodium will increase blood pressure. If my math is correct, that means that only 7 to 13 percent of the population have to worry about a restricted diet. Still, health organizations and many health professionals automatically, and unecessarily, recommend a low-sodium diet.
What really sticks in my craw, however, is that people like Curry and Bauer think you can simply remove salt from food. Salt is an integral part of just about every dish to bring out and marry the taste of ingredients, and add complexity. It tames the heat in chiles and enhances and rounds out flavors.
Of course, moderation is the key, but there are enough legitimate things to worry about in the food system. Salt shouldn't be one of them unless you know you have a problem. Otherwise, why make everyone suffer?