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Kirin demos "electric salt spoon" at CES

throw310822

> especially relevant in Japan, where the country’s adult population eats more than double the World Health Organization’s recommended intake

Japan is also the country with the second highest life expectancy in the world. Is salt really that bad? How long would they live if they followed WHO's recommendations?

kopirgan

It's not just one thing. Their diet very low calorie.. Low on fat.

If we eat oil like Mediterranean fat like Intuit's, carb like Raramurii, protein like Americans will have worst health of all.

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saagarjha

I'd take some years off my life if it meant I could continue to enjoy salt.

m463

> Is salt really that bad?

I was wondering, does exercise purge "extra" salt?

also, since this is japan, would they have a chopsticks model? Maybe this is for soup. Or an export version. Japanese ramen spoons have a different shape.

Cthulhu_

> I was wondering, does exercise purge "extra" salt?

IIRC sweating is the only way for the body to get rid of salt, so on paper, yes. But it's probably not as simple as that.

atoav

When I first heard about that Kirin invention I heard about chopsticks also, so maybe it is in the works

saagarjha

> The researchers behind it first published their thesis in 2011, but have since made spoons, forks, and chopsticks that pass electric currents into food.

hsbauauvhabzb

Iirc only the northern parts of Japan have high salt diets, the south side has lesser intake, but I could be wrong.

bamboozled

I don't think this is true at all, everyone here eats a lot of salt.

Soy sauce is in basically everything, it's full of salt.

nkrisc

Is salt consumption and life span uniformly distributed across Japan?

bamboozled

Everyone in Japan eats a lot of salt, there is no region specific salt intake.

pessimizer

> Is salt really that bad?

No, salt is good because it helps you to eat unpalatable, nutritious food.

t-3

When I heard about this, I couldn't help but think of the taste of a 9-volt battery on the tongue, but from what I understood/guessed from TFA, this does something more like pulling dissolved sodium ions to the outer surface of the food to make them more readily encountered by taste buds? So, the food would need to have a decent salt content to begin with and not be too dry probably?

xattt

[delayed]

surfingdino

Lasers. If ain't got no lasers it ain't no good.

WtfRuSerious

Say what you will about salt consumption, but my wife suffered thyroid issues until we added a shaker of iodized salt back into our kitchen/eating area.

ZYbCRq22HbJ2y7

There are plenty of other sources for iodine.

strokirk

Which?

throwawaybbq1

My taste buds have become extremely muted after covid bouts and other sinus issues. Wonder if this would be helpful.

0xDEADFED5

I read about this the other day. The main thing I remember was the weird grip required...a fist grip? I'd be curious to hear more about that aspect...

LWIRVoltage

It's going to be because it needs a complete circuit. (and firm contact with the handle where there will be another 'electrode'

This sounds exactly like (for example) electric shock gag pens and other things that attempt to emit a charge - A lot of electrical devices need a complete circuit- and so the circuit needs to be complete. For what this device is doing with moving ions, it probably needs the circuit- I don't know that the few devices out there that emit power without that sort of circuit could accomplish the same.

surfingdino

I think we are witnessing ascent of the new Dyson of kitchen utensils.

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last_one_in

FFS, can humans not just keep creating plastic crap that'll ruin the planet. Make your own wooden spoon and you have a beautiful object created with your own hands.

mcdeltat

Apparently an unpopular comment but I commend it for having the ability to step back and think "wtf are we doing", which far too many people seem to lack. You've gotta admit that a spoon which adds salt flavour is an oddly superficial use of technology... is it really a good solution to a real problem?

sgt

But how would that wooden spoon simulate salt?

lm28469

I don't even get how we came to this point. Anyone uttering this question should reconsider their entire life choices...

Is the end game of humanity shitty chat bots, half assed autonomous cars and salt simulating spoons? Is this what people dream about these days? We're pathetic

helloplanets

Pretty sure yours is the more common take, rather than the opposite. Or at least a view that is very well represented by just about any news outlet. There's also a popular comedy movie about it.

So, you're not exactly going against the grain here.

alejoar

A huge percent of the population can't take food with salt because of medical conditions. This would be a quality of life improvement for them.

You can still eat as much salt as you like, not need to feel pathetic.