Reflux? Eat less salt, drink more coffee!
You know those health-awareness programs employerssponser for employees? (I often think employers arebeing scammed when they buy these.) Anyway, one suchprogram resulted in a page long health-tip postedabove a urinal I used today. In essence it read:
Cut down on tobacco and salt to reduce risk of refluxdisease.
I wondered where such an idea about salt came from soI googled it on the laptop and found the several newsreports, then I looked up the single scientific reporton PUBMED. I read through the abstract (no access tothe full article.) Last December some Swedishscientists published a report based on a health surveyof 43,363 individuals. Of these, 3,153 reportedsevere heartburn or regurgitation during the last 12months. They compared answers to questions abouttobacco smoking, alcohol, coffee, tea, table salt,cereal fibers, and physical exercise.
They identified a positive correlation betweenheartburn respondents and the their use of table salt.
Based on the survey, you'd also have to drink morecoffee, eat bread high in dietary fiber, and exercisefrequently to fully "reduce risk for reflux disease"as per the logic applied by the health-tip.
I say perhaps it's the bland foods (rather than thesalt) that cause heartburn. Perhaps the health-tipabout salt and reflux is 100% accurate(physiologically, perhaps a good hypothesis.) All I'msuggesting is that science can't come to a definitiveconclusion about salt and reflux based on this surveyreport. There should be more study to actually testthe correlation. Is it any wonder how health fads getstarted?
Cut down on tobacco and salt to reduce risk of refluxdisease.
I wondered where such an idea about salt came from soI googled it on the laptop and found the several newsreports, then I looked up the single scientific reporton PUBMED. I read through the abstract (no access tothe full article.) Last December some Swedishscientists published a report based on a health surveyof 43,363 individuals. Of these, 3,153 reportedsevere heartburn or regurgitation during the last 12months. They compared answers to questions abouttobacco smoking, alcohol, coffee, tea, table salt,cereal fibers, and physical exercise.
They identified a positive correlation betweenheartburn respondents and the their use of table salt.
Based on the survey, you'd also have to drink morecoffee, eat bread high in dietary fiber, and exercisefrequently to fully "reduce risk for reflux disease"as per the logic applied by the health-tip.
I say perhaps it's the bland foods (rather than thesalt) that cause heartburn. Perhaps the health-tipabout salt and reflux is 100% accurate(physiologically, perhaps a good hypothesis.) All I'msuggesting is that science can't come to a definitiveconclusion about salt and reflux based on this surveyreport. There should be more study to actually testthe correlation. Is it any wonder how health fads getstarted?
posted by nawledge at
8:39 PM
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