Salt
6/10/202653 min
In the 1980s, a low-sodium diet was seen as the gold standard for healthy behavior. In 2026, salt has been repackaged as “electrolytes” and is now cast as a core component of wellness. How did we get here?
Also, an important correction: One pound of butter to one pound of potatoes is Joel Robuchon’s recipe.
Support us:
- Hear bonus episodes on Patreon
- Watch Aubrey's documentary
- Buy Aubrey's book
- Listen to Mike's other podcast
- Get Maintenance Phase T-shirts, stickers and more
Links!
- The 25 Saltiest Restaurant Meals in America
- Facts, Issues, and Controversies in Salt Reduction for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
- Salt Wars
- The INTERSALT Study: background, methods, findings, and implications
- Sodium reduction
- Sodium Intake Reduction: An Important But Elusive Public Health Goal
- Effects of Diet and Sodium Intake
- Salt intake, stroke, and cardiovascular disease
- Racial and Ethnic Differences in Sodium Sources and Sodium Reduction Behaviors Among US Adults
- The Great Salt Debate: So Bad?
- Salt guidelines draw heavy backlash
- Sodium Reduction in US Households’ Packaged Food and Beverage Purchases
- Blood pressure lowering efficacy of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors for primary hypertension
Thanks to Doctor Dreamchip for our lovely theme song!
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMichael Hobbs· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Welcome to Maintenance Phase, the podcast... Wait, why can't I do this? [laughs] Oh, yeah. Welcome to Maintenance Phase, the podcast that will finally make an episode that other people will call salty.
Aubrey Gordon· Host0:22
There we go.
Michael Hobbs· Host0:24
See?
Aubrey Gordon· Host0:24
You did it.
Michael Hobbs· Host0:26
It's okay. It's, like, six out of 10.
Aubrey Gordon· Host0:28
We're doing the episodium.
Michael Hobbs· Host0:31
I'm Michael Hobbs.
Aubrey Gordon· Host0:32
I'm Aubrey Gordon. If you would like to support the show, you can do that at- Show- ... patreon.com/maintenancephase ...
Michael Hobbs· Host0:39
maintenancephase.
Aubrey Gordon· Host0:39
You can also subscribe through Apple Podcasts. It's the same audio content.
Michael Hobbs· Host0:43
Same stuff, Aubrey.
Aubrey Gordon· Host0:45
We're talking about salt today, Mike.
Michael Hobbs· Host0:47
This was, like, the anxiety around diet growing up.
Aubrey Gordon· Host0:51
Yep.
Michael Hobbs· Host0:51
It was, like, low fat and, like, low salt were the two things you needed to strive for.
Aubrey Gordon· Host0:54
This came up in our bonus episode about '80s diets- Mm-hmm ... that a ton of them were, like, extremely low salt.
Michael Hobbs· Host1:04
Yeah.
Aubrey Gordon· Host1:04
It is a thing that came up for me with, my mom called me and said that a friend of hers invited her over to taste her cooking and make sure that it had the right amount of salt because her friend does not use salt ever.
Michael Hobbs· Host1:19
This is a decades-long fight that I've been having with my mom. She does not put salt in foods, and she says, "If you want salt, you can just salt it at the end." Like, if you're eating chili, you could salt it at the end, and I keep trying