AHS22

For decades, the Dietary Guidelines of America have recommended strictly limiting added dietary salt primarily on the basis of real but largely clinically irrelevant effects on blood pressure. Members of the Low Carb and Paleo Diet communities have pointed out the senselessness of these recommendations, while also noting observational correlations between moderately higher salt intake and lower mortality. While it's true that salt has been highly prized in post-agricultural times, evidence does not support high sodium intake in either the Paleolithic or modern non-agrarian societies. In this talk I will present anthropological and biological evidence for and against increasing salt intake, with special attention to the ketogenic and animal-food-predominant dietary contexts.