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The NY Times recently reported on new research showing the dangerous health implications of maintaining too high a sodium-to-potassium diet, because both chemicals tend to neutralize one another's biological reactions.
Data on 12,000 American adults was studied and those with a high sodium-to-potassium concentration were 50% more likely to die of anything and twice as likely to die of heart disease within an average follow-up period of almost 15 years. Other risk factors for heart disease were controlled.
The reason for this relationship, it is thought, is that sodium stiffens arteries and blocks nitric oxide, which would normally relax arteries. Potassium, instead, activates nitric oxide, thus counteracting sodium. Without the counteracting mechanism, however, stiffened arteries tend to raise blood pressure and force hypertension, which may lead to heart disease, stroke, and death. Meanwhile, the risk of high blood pressure increases for all of us as we age.
The concern boils down to the over-consumption of salt. On average, we ingest 15.5 times the required daily minimum of sodium, as set by the FDA. We also ingest anywhere from 1.5 to 2.3 times as much as the suggested maximum.
Our intake of sodium has been increasing for decades, largely due to the increased use of salt in restaurants and processed foods. Solutions abound, including having the FDA classify salt as something less than "safe." Others propose slowly reducing the amount of salt restaurants use, like in Finland, and some establishments have already agreed to follow a steady decline in salt usage. Others petition the government for greater regulations. Still others merely advise our own voluntary diets.
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