Where are the critical health effects of added sodium salts?
Something is very strange in ref. 1. in this article of Jacqui Wise [1]. In the article of Mingyang Song et al. [2/a] - at the end of the abstract (in Conclusions and relevance) we can read:
"Substitution of plant protein for animal protein, especially that from processed red meat, was associated with lower mortality, suggesting the importance of protein source."
But in the article on page 10 (E10) is written: "These results UNDERSCORE THE IMPORTANCE of protein sources FOR RISK ASSESSMENT AND SUGGEST THAT OTHER COMPONENTS in protein-rich foods (eg, SODIUM /45/, NITRATES, and NITRITES /46/ in processed red meat), in addition to protein per se, MAY HAVE A CRITICAL HEALTH EFFECT."
(Note: the capitalised highlighting was made by me.)
And in the press release of the Massachusetts General Hospital [3], and in the news release of JAMA Internal Medicine (for the media) [4], and on scientific media - for example [5], and on a lot of news portals ( https://jamanetwork.altmetric.com/details/10185573/news "So far, Altmetric has seen 201 news stories from 172 outlets.") - nothing about the critical health effect of added sodium (NaCl), nitrates and nitrites. Why? Since, the real conclusion is not that the protein source (animal or plant) is important and has health risks, but that the added sodium salts have a critical health effect, for example, on cholesterol levels [6]. That is not public? The danger of the sodium-induced disorder [7] is taboo?
The article was corrected in November 2016 [2/b], but in the correction there is also nothing about the critical health effect of added sodium salts.
Note: The first author - Mingyang Song - affiliation: Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital and HARVARD Medical School, Boston, and also: Department of Nutrition, HARVARD T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
And the study was supported by the grants UM1 CA186107, P01 CA87969, and UM1 CA167552 from the National Institutes of Health.
6. Lot B. Page, Albert Damon and Robert C. Moellering: Antecedents of Cardiovascular Disease in Six Solomon Islands Societies. Circulation June 1, 1974, Volume 49, Issue 6 1132-1146 http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.49.6.1132
Rapid Response:
Where are the critical health effects of added sodium salts?
Something is very strange in ref. 1. in this article of Jacqui Wise [1]. In the article of Mingyang Song et al. [2/a] - at the end of the abstract (in Conclusions and relevance) we can read:
"Substitution of plant protein for animal protein, especially that from processed red meat, was associated with lower mortality, suggesting the importance of protein source."
But in the article on page 10 (E10) is written: "These results UNDERSCORE THE IMPORTANCE of protein sources FOR RISK ASSESSMENT AND SUGGEST THAT OTHER COMPONENTS in protein-rich foods (eg, SODIUM /45/, NITRATES, and NITRITES /46/ in processed red meat), in addition to protein per se, MAY HAVE A CRITICAL HEALTH EFFECT."
(Note: the capitalised highlighting was made by me.)
And in the press release of the Massachusetts General Hospital [3], and in the news release of JAMA Internal Medicine (for the media) [4], and on scientific media - for example [5], and on a lot of news portals ( https://jamanetwork.altmetric.com/details/10185573/news "So far, Altmetric has seen 201 news stories from 172 outlets.") - nothing about the critical health effect of added sodium (NaCl), nitrates and nitrites. Why? Since, the real conclusion is not that the protein source (animal or plant) is important and has health risks, but that the added sodium salts have a critical health effect, for example, on cholesterol levels [6]. That is not public? The danger of the sodium-induced disorder [7] is taboo?
The article was corrected in November 2016 [2/b], but in the correction there is also nothing about the critical health effect of added sodium salts.
Note: The first author - Mingyang Song - affiliation: Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit, Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital and HARVARD Medical School, Boston, and also: Department of Nutrition, HARVARD T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
And the study was supported by the grants UM1 CA186107, P01 CA87969, and UM1 CA167552 from the National Institutes of Health.
References:
1. Jacqui Wise: Eating more plant protein is associated with lower risk of death. BMJ 2016; 354 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i4243 (Published 02 August 2016)
Cite this as: BMJ 2016;354:i4243 http://www.bmj.com/content/354/bmj.i4243
2/a Mingyang Song, Teresa T. Fung, Frank B. Hu, Walter C. Willett, Valter D. Longo, Andrew T. Chan, Edward L. Giovannucci, Association of Animal and Plant Protein Intake With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(10):1453-1463. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.4182 http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2540540
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305780215
2/b. The article of Mingyang Song et al. was corrected: Correction November 2016 Correction of Abstract and Text JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(11):1728. oi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.6538
http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/25...
3. High animal protein intake associated with higher, plant protein with lower mortality rate. August 1, 2016 http://www.massgeneral.org/about/pressrelease.aspx?id=1968
4. Eating More Plant Protein Associated with Lower Risk of Death. August 1, 2016 http://media.jamanetwork.com/news-item/eating-more-plant-protein-associa...
5. High animal protein intake associated with higher, plant protein with lower mortality rate. August 1, 2016 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/08/160801113654.htm
6. Lot B. Page, Albert Damon and Robert C. Moellering: Antecedents of Cardiovascular Disease in Six Solomon Islands Societies. Circulation June 1, 1974, Volume 49, Issue 6 1132-1146
http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.49.6.1132
7. Zoltan Sandor: Sodium-Induced Disorder Syndrome. Where have all the sciences gone? BMJ Online (13 April 2016) http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h4962/rr-45 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301297340
Competing interests: No competing interests