Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
War On Salt May Be Misguided, Or Not, Who Friggin Knows
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 30, 2012
Modified Dec 30, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 30, 2012
Modified Dec 30, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Salt has joined eggs, wheat, and pretty much everything else we put into our sacred, bulbous temples as a substance that Science says is either pure poison or life-giving manna. While we look on like kittens watching a tennis match, Dr. Sean Lucan of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine rebuts DOH Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley's assertion that New Yorkers are plunging the savory knife of salinity into our chests. "We do not know that reducing mean population sodium intake would decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease or save lives," Lucan writes in this month's American Journal of Public Health. "Randomized controlled trial evidence suggests…that lower sodium intake may lead to worsened cardiovascular disease and earlier death."
“My concern is that they’re focusing on a single ingredient that the food industry is going to have to replace with something—and what they replace it with might be more damaging,” Dr. Lucan explained to the Post. “There is a relationship between sodium and blood pressure, but it’s not consistent. And even when it’s present, it isn’t clinically very substantial."
Dr. Lucan added that refined sugars are "a greater enemy" than foods rich in sodium. “If sugar-sweetened beverages are a public-health problem, then why aren’t sugar-laden cookies?” Did anyone just hear a cheer coming from northeast Connecticut?
However, Commissioner Farley isn't backing down. “The body of evidence demonstrates that excess sodium consumption is an important population-level risk for high blood pressure and is strong and conclusive," he wrote in an article that accompanied Lucan's. Whatever. Wake us up when salt is our mortal enemy again.
[Ed: This blog post was created without any trace of "pinch of salt" puns thanks to the Partnership for a Pun-Free America]
Tagged
sodium
war on salt
SALT
partnership for a Pun Free America
health
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian food is delicious but underrepresented in the city.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Oct 10, 2026
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .