Ep. 80: Michael Jacobson - Salt: The Good, The Bad, and the Truth

Do you have a love affair with the salt shaker? Having trouble breaking yourself of the pre-packaged food addiction? Do you have a ballpark guess for the recommended amount of sodium you should be consuming on a daily basis? What about the devastating consequences of too much salt in your diet?

Don’t be alarmed or ashamed with any of your answers if you just don’t know. It’s not your fault. We all fall prey to marketing and the lure of salty foods and today Rip speaks with researcher and author, Michael Jacobson, about his recent book, “Salt Wars - The Battle over the Biggest Killer in the American Diet.”

Michael Jacobson is one of the preeminent scientists who has been fighting on the front lines in Washington DC - literally going to political battle for our health for more than 50 years.

He is co-founder of the Center for Science and the Public Interest, which was developed in 1971 as a Health Advocacy Group for Food Safety and Nutrition. The CSPI may not sound familiar to you, but their work will - they are responsible for nutrition facts labeling on food products, getting junk foods out of schools, and removing trans fat out of the food supply -- to name a few of their landmark efforts.

Today, though, he speaks with Rip about our love affair with salt. Why has it become so prevalent in our diet (much of it without us even realizing!)? What are the impacts on our health? And, most importantly, how can we ditch the desire for that extra dash at every meal?

Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D. is a co-founder and long-time Executive Director of Center for Science in the Public Interest (CPSI), now serving as a Senior Scientist. Jacobson has written numerous books and reports, including Salt Wars: The Battle Over the Biggest Killer in the American Diet; Eater’s Digest: the Consumer’s Fact Book of Food Additives, Nutrition Scoreboard; Salt: the Forgotten Killer; and Liquid Candy: How Soft Drinks are Harming Americans’ Health. He has also been honored with such awards as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Hero Award (2010), the American Public Health Association’s David P. Rall award for advocacy in public health (2011), and the Food Marketing Institute’s Esther Peterson Consumer Service Award (1992). His Ph.D. in microbiology is from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Episode and PLANTSTRONG Resources:

• PLANTSTRONG Meal Planner - use code: STARTFRESH for a 14-Day Free Trial. Yes, you have to enter a credit card - but you won’t be charged if you cancel before the trial ends and that’s a click of a button. Enjoy the test drive and get cooking!

• Learn More About our In-Person Sedona Retreat - October 11th-16th, 2021

• Center for Science in the Public Interest Website

• Theme Music for Episode

• Promo Theme Music