Salt of the Earth
I know it's been a while since I've written anything here. That's because not much has been pissing me off lately, and I'm not going to argue with that. But today I found something out that I just cannot tolerate. And no surprise, it has to do with Americans and food.
There's a law being proposed by Obama which would limit the amount of salt you can legally consume. Once again, Obama's government is trying to take over your life, right down to the food you're allowed to eat. Clearly, this is something that cannot be allowed to happen.
Good news, everyone: it's not happening, and anyone who thinks it is is a fucking idiot. What's really happening is the FDA is getting ready to work with food companies to get them to lower the salt content in their food. That's it.
What Too Much Salt Can Give You
- Heartburn
- Gastric cancer
- Osteoporosis
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Cardiac enlargement (left ventricular hypertrophy)
- Edema
- Ulcers
- Stroke
- Kidney disease
- Heart attacks
- Death
The average person's recommended salt intake is 2,400mg/day. It varies by age, gender, weight, blood pressure, and any number of other factors, but for argument's sake let's go with 2,400, because odds are if you're affected by any of those things your recommended intake is lower, not higher. Now go eat a baloney sandwich. Congratulations, you just ate almost half your recommended daily salt. If you added cheese then you did eat half of it. And if you enjoy fast food on a regular basis, you don't even want to know how much salt you're eating each day.
The average recommended salt intake is 2,400mg/day, but unless you pick your foods extremely carefully you practically have to keep yourself malnourished in order not to exceed it. This is because despite the recommendations, you actually eat as much salt as the people who make your food put in it, which means unless you're a discerning shopper you're entirely at their mercy. And if you're adding salt to your food on top of that, you should know that you really don't need to. Medically it's unsound, and the flavour change can be duplicated with other things.
The fact is, unless you want to invest lots of time doing research into the food you eat (which you should do, frankly, as it's your body it's going into), your salt intake is entirely at the whim of the food companies. And since regularly consuming too much salt is extremely bad, those companies putting that much salt in your food is dangerous. Too little salt is also bad, but I challenge you to find someone who routinely eats less than 2g/day of salt. Go ahead, I'll wait.
... Couldn't find anyone? I'm not surprised. Moving on ...
Whose Idea Was It Really?
The report recommended that a coordinated approach involving food manufacturers and restaurants be taken to cut back on salt subtly and over time in "a way that goes unnoticed by most consumers as individuals' taste sensors adjust to the lower levels of sodium."
- Source: Medindia
What the FDA is proposing is to reduce the salt in the food we eat, so it becomes easier to eat more healthily. Less salt means lower blood pressure, and less risk of certain life-threatening effects. You'll also have more energy, you'll be less stressed, and overall you'll be in a better mood. These are good things.
Now, I'd like to talk directly to the people who oppose these measures. What the fuck is wrong with you? The government and government agencies do things they deem to be in the best interest of the population, and I can assure you beyond a shadow of a doubt that lowering your salt intake is absolutely vital to your health and well-being. This is a measure specifically designed to make you more healthy, and you're against it? FUCK YOU.
You know what? If you're reading this article and you oppose these measures, close this page and never come back. I don't even want you reading my website. If you would rather bitch about something the government's doing just because the government is doing it than consider it intelligently, and you'd rather poison your body than be forced to eat food that's more healthy because it somehow interferes with your "freedom", then fuck off and never come here again. I hope you die very soon with all your freedoms intact, while the rest of us live longer, healthier lives because we don't have our heads crammed firmly up our asses. 400 people a day die from too much salt in America alone, not to mention the rest of the world, maybe you'll be one of them.
I shouldn't be surprised at this reaction though. The same thing happened when New York City banned trans fats in fast food restaurants. A measure taken to increase the quality of life of everybody, and people got all bitchy about how it should be their own choice whether to eat food with trans fats. No it shouldn't, because food with trans fats shouldn't fucking exist, because trans fats do nothing but harm the body. That recommended serving percentage for trans fats isn't a healthy portion, it's how much your body can filter out in a day before it starts affecting you. But God forbid the government do something to make people more healthy; that's not its job.
Yes, it fucking is their job. The government's job is to keep you safe, and if that means making your diet less unhealthy, then let them make your diet less unhealthy. Frankly, I'd love to see a ban on overweight people, because it would force people to care about how they fuel their bodies. Your health, energy levels, state of mind, mood, and lifespan are all directly influenced by your diet. And if someone wants to help you improve all of those things at once, and all you have to do is keep doing what you're doing now, just shut your fucking mouth and let them help you. Or die quickly so we don't have to listen to your paranoid bitching any more. Either way works for me.