geoffrey modest medical blogs

a new analysis of several older studies looked at the association of sodium urinary excretion, a marker of sodium intake, finding a complex relationship between that and cardiovascular events in patients both with and without hypertension (see  htn sodium cv events lancet2016  in dropbox, or  doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30467-6 ​). details: --133,118 individuals (63,559 with hypertension; 69,559 without) from 4 large prospective studies: PURE (prospective urban rural epidemiological study, 156424 people; EPIDREAM with 17453 people, ONTARGET with 25620 people, TRANSCEND with 5926 people) --median age 55 (58.6 in those with hypertension, 50.5 in those without), from 49 countries, mean sodium excretion 4850 mg/d, 50% women, 45% from Asia, 40% <high school education, BMI 26, 60% nonsmokers/20% current smokers (though less in hypertensives: 16%), 40% medium/40% high physical activity, 33% current drin...

There are new draft nutrition guidelines from the US Dept of Health and Human Services and the Dept of Agriculture (see  http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-BINDER/meeting7/docs/DGAC-Meeting-7-SC-1.pdf  ). no huge changes, other than the comment " cholesterol is not considered a nutrient of concern for overconsumption ". other points: --vitamin D, calcium, potassium and fiber are underconsumed across the entire US population --iron is underconsumed for adolescent and premenopausal females --sodium is overconsumed across the entire US population --saturated fat is overconsumed and may pose the greatest risk to those > 50 years old --caffeine intake does not exceed what are currently considered safe levels for any age group --fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy foods are under recommended goals for vast majority of US population. fruit intake is low but stable from 2001-2010, vegetables have declined. --refined grains, solid fats, and added suga...