Q. In a recent interview, you mentioned cutting back on added sugar as one of the most important things you can do to improve your diet. I noticed you didn’t mention the importance of limiting sodium. Do you think the concerns over sodium are over-blown?
A. In a word, yes. In the recently released 2010 Dietary Guide for Americans, they really came down hard on salt, stressing the need for all Americans to reduce their sodium intake. Given all the things about the typical American diet that could use fixing, I thought it was a little odd how much emphasis they put on this. (Obviously, the salt lobby was asleep at the switch during the hearings…)
The rationale for universal sodium restriction rests a string of loosely related statistics:
Q. I’ve listened to your podcast on 
Q. Are you familiar with Dr. Robert Lustig’s presentation on fructose, called “
People buy organic foods for lots of reasons: They are produced without chemical fertilizers and pesticides and (in the case of animal products) without hormones and antibiotics. But a 100% organic diet may not be possible. So people often ask me which foods are most important to buy organic. Here’s my short list, in order of priority: