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Subscribe to RSSThe Centers for Disease Control said Tuesday on average Americans consume 3,300 mgs of sodium every day, putting people at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. NBC's Tom Costello reports.
Despite public health messages telling Americans to lower the amount of salt in their diets, most of us still eat too much of the stuff, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nine out of 10 people ages 2 and older in the United States consume more than the recommended amount of sodium each day, the report says, and the leading culprit is not potato chips or popcorn but slices of bread and dinner rolls.
Bread may not have much salt in a single serving, but when eaten several times a day can raise daily salt intake. A single slice of white bread could contain as many as 230 milligrams of salt, according to the CDC.
The average American takes in about 3,300 milligrams of sodium per day — and that's not counting the salt you might shake onto your food before you eat it. The 2010 U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend people limit the salt in their diet to 2,300 milligrams per day. And for 6 out of every 10 adults, the recommended limit is substantially lower: those who are 51 years or older, African-American, have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney diseases are advised to limit their sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams per day. About 99 percent of people in this latter group eat too much salt, the report says.
"Too much sodium raises blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, said in a statement. "These diseases kill more than 800,000 Americans each year, and contribute an estimated $273 billion in health care costs," he said.
A 2010 report from the CDC, based on surveys from 2005 to 2006, also found that 9 in 10 Americans consume too much salt. However, the average daily sodium intake reported back then was slighly higher, about 3,500 milligrams.
Top sources of sodium
The report identified the top 10 sources of sodium in our diets, which include a lot of food we find tasty. These are, in order: breads and rolls, luncheon meats, pizza, poultry, soups, cheeseburgers and other sandwiches, cheese, pasta dishes, meat dishes such as meat loaf, and snack foods like potato chips and pretzels. These foods account for 44 percent of all the sodium we eat in a day.
About 65 percent of our total daily sodium comes from foods we buy at the store. But within some of the food categories, such as pizza, about 50 percent comes from foods we buy at restaurants and fast food outlets.
For children ages 2 to 19, only about 8 percent of sodium comes from foods obtained from school cafeterias and day care centers, the report says.
The findings are based on surveys of 7,227 Americans conducted between 2007 and 2008.
Cutting back on salt
Cutting back on salt isn't easy, the report acknowledged. Some foods that may seem healthy, such as turkey lunchmeat that is low in calories and fat, may have high levels of sodium, the report said. In addition, a lot of the salt we eat comes from processed foods.
The CDC recommended Americans check food labels to purchase foods with lower sodium content. People should also try to consume a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and limit the amount of processed foods with high sodium content, the CDC says.
Frieden said that some food manufacturers and restaurants are making efforts to lower the amount of salt added to their foods.
"We're encouraged that some food manufacturers are already taking steps to reduce sodium," Frieden said. "Kraft Foods has committed to an average 10 percent reduction of sodium in their products over a two-year period, and dozens of companies have joined a national initiative to reduce sodium. The leading supplier of cheese for pizza, Leprino Foods, is actively working on providing customers and consumers with healthier options," Frieden said.
Lowering the average American's salt intake by 400 milligrams could prevent up to 28,000 deaths, and save $7 billion in health-care costs, each year, according to projections in the report.
However, not all studies have been able to find benefits of a reduced salt diet. A review study published last year that included information from 6,500 people found that moderate reductions in salt in the diet lowered blood pressure, but did not reduce participants' risk of having heart disease or dying. Still, those researchers said that perhaps even greater reductions in salt were needed to see a benefit.
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Reuters wire service contributed to this story.
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Here we GO AGAIN !!!
Most recently, it was SUGAR....now SALT again !!
Sure, impose restrictions on the masses while the FEW cannot control their habits. Don't these folks even listen to their doctors ? Guess not.
Next it will be you can't go to the beach because of the "dreadful" sun rays.
They just want more control, it probably wont be long before they want to re-classify Salt has a toxin, just like they are doing to sugar. Just more of the cradle to the grave control.
Ironic since pizza is classified as a vegetable now...
The title of the article....
CDC says Americans still eat too much salt.... The data that backs up this statement..
Is from 2008.. FOUR YEAR OLD DATA... Let me see I think I will file this study in the meaningless and waste of tax payers money bin.
Eating too much salt does not cause high blood pressure. It makes high blood pressure worse if you have high blood pressure.
If you don't have high blood pressure and your kidneys are working normally, there is rarely any need to watch your salt intake.
Someone pass the salt shaker. I like chips with my salt.
Talk about a bunch of overreactions. The CDC says we still ingest too much salt. If you care, then modify your diet; if you don't, take a chill pill and move on. Should we do no research or make any recommendations just because some people don't want to hear it?
No it's not. Stop making stuff up. The only "classification" that was made was that pizza sauce contains an adequate serving of vegetables for the purposes of high school lunch programs. No one classified pizza as a vegetable.
@SabreDC
Actually they did in congress..... according to how they measure your servings of vegetables in the lunches in schools.... pizza counts as a serving of vegetables.... Tomato is not even a vegetable its a fruit (seed pods vrs stems, roots and leafs) stop being uninformed.
"found that moderate reductions in salt in the diet lowered blood pressure, but did not reduce participants' risk of having heart disease or dying. Still, those researchers said that perhaps even greater reductions in salt were needed to see a benefit."
or, perhaps...it's not the salt that is playing any role at all.
im tired of studies that only look at one tiny part and draw massive conclusions from it.
We are talking about Stroke (neurological) and Heart Disease (vascular)....and we are trying to act like Salt is responsible for both?
Where'd these folks get their medical training - McDonalds University?
mooochelle runs the cdc by phone!!!!
Exactly! Follow the money, and it will lead you straight to the CDC. If there wasn't a problem with salt intake, these people wouldn't get money to figure out how to "fix" the problem. It's also hilarious that there is even a "recommended" value as it currently exists. The amount of salt your body needs varies drastically with environmental factors, including water consumption and energy usage. Did you know that the electrochemical gradients generated by sodium are vital to your very existence? Stupid CDC...
Mooochelle has "hot lines" to the CDC, MSNDC, and Mr. Obama's political contacts in Cheeeecago.
I don't think they have any idea what they are talking about. I have heard before that research on people who had sodium restricted diets, the ones that ate less salt had a HIGHER incidence of heart attack and stroke. To much is inferred from too little. Garbage in, garbage out. People who take fewer pills, as a group, probably live a lot longer. So what? Look at the environment... and you are going to tell me the answer to longevity is to eat less salt? pbtbtbtbtbt
@Jeremy,
Congrats, you win the prize for the stupidest remark. The data was from studies done in 2005 and 2006 and published in December 2010. Sorry, but data does not just instantly analyze itself, write itself up, and scream into peer-reviewed journals all that quickly so that idiots like MSNBC's "science" writers can paraphrase the conclusions into idiocy. All this takes time.
There's this cool small movement in Sioux Falls, SD called The Third Place. Home is your first place, work, the 2nd place---and this is the 3rd. They all have some talent to share that is relative to a healthier lifestyle. As opposed to sitting in front of weekend sports on the tube, men and women are taking classes in woodworking, growing a community organic garden, healthy cooking, etc., and they are hopelessly non-political. Must be a real breath of fresh air. We all have some talent--share it with others by teaching and we'll all be better for it.
Even if it wasn't about control, if they'd look at the SOURCE of all the salt....the quantities they ALLOW, even ENCOURAGE manufacturers to use in the products they sell in our grocery stores....the PROBLEM COULD BE SOLVED. Get the crap out of our food! Then, if someone wants salt on their food...they can put it on themselves and nobody could B*t*h about it.
All this "preservative" mess is what's killing everybody. Buy a piece of meat at Wally world and check the salt content in it when you open it. And that's supposed to be "fresh".
There wouldn't be a need for Americans to "check labels" on the foods they buy, if the stuff wasn't in it to begin with.
What next? My cocoa?
Based on my age (near 50), my weight (under 200lbs), and my intake of salt (LOTS), my blood pressure should be through the roof. The reason it is not is because I don't add any standard table salt to anything. I use ONLY sea salt WITHOUT the added IODINE. These numb-nutz don't take that into account, do they?
Like Carlin said, "Eat right, get fit, and die anyways."
Just doing some quick math in my head, But 3300 mg of salt per day, bread is the leading culprit at 230 mg per slice. and before the retards attack me, i know other stuff goes on the bread. either way that works out to 14- 15 slices of bread. Something tells me if you eat more than a couple of slices of bread, you are most likely overweight and were going to have heart problems anyway salt of no salt.
The CDC has to much time on their hands and a lot of our money. They are receiving to much money from the tax payers. Cut their budget and have a reduction in forces like everything else in the country. We can save some money, since we know a lot about this stuff already from our family doctors. For those that don't have a family doctor find one.
Take this with a grain of salt this will all come into play with Obama-Care enforcement. Sowill the sugar, the alcohol, smoking and anything else they can come up with. Be prepared!!
Salt makes things taste better...screw high blood pressure...I might get hit by a bus tomorrow
Smokie...yea...your a dumb ass...Obama care is not going to kill you...I wish we could have one article to comment on and some dumb-ass doesn't bring up their political stupidness
What's your point? All government agencies operate on tax dollars. Did you want to personally pick which ones get funding?
On Healthcare Reform--we need a single payer system and cut the third party, (the insurance companies), out of the picture. Check the VA healthcare system and compare it with private care. My doctor actually listens and offers treatment options. He's not pushed to see 6 patients per hour. As the system is now, every time an uninsured person goes to the ER because they can't get treated by a physician, it costs me and it costs you. It's not right or left, it's just practical. We're #37 in quality of healthcare, yet #1 in cost. Fix it by insuring every US citizen.
Gee Ido, it's those dastardly doctors trying to further their evil plot of making America healthier yet again...
I don't like the idea of imposing dietary conditions on anyone, but I for one would like to see convenience and restaurant foods with less salt. Most of it tastes too salty to me and I can't take it out. There's a salt shaker on every table...make it with less salt and let individuals add more if they want.
(It's the guy who wants to regulate sugar that's on my hit list.)
A stroke is vascular - it deals with the vasculature to the brain. Strokes are either hemorrhagic or ischemic. Ischemic strokes occur when the vasculature is obstructed; hemorrhagic strokes occur when their is a bleed. Both are vasculature in origin.
High blood pressure is a risk factor for stroke and for other cardiac and peripheral vasculature diseases.
my rights to have as much salt, butter, and when needed, BBQ sauce when ever I want are the unspoken part of the 1st amendment.
Take that away and it's one step closer to that freaky society from "Demolition Man"
Go right ahead and eat yourself to diabetes or hypertension!
Just do so NOT on my dime. Your health care later in life will be expensive and some of us out here are tired of paying for such things.
Get your own long term life and health care insurance. Medicare is going to be bust in a few decades.
@been there,
And I guess that makes it part of my first amendment rights --- freedom of assembly --- to attend your funeral. Wow! This freedoms stuff is awesome! LOL
PeteMT-
All the more reason to eliminate medicare, medicaid, and obamacare. If people are held accountable for their decisions they become more responsible.
Damn right Chris. Thanks for attending too. And before I die I'll make sure to drop my insurance, collapse in the emergency room floor, and tell them to charge it to PeteMT.
(maybe you've) been there, done that.
Sorry, there's no right to food....
Well erm, it is his right to choose what he wants to eat but, Most foods packaged these days are packaged with salt to preserve them. If not for perserving then youll get a nice can of Rot on Rice. Lovely aint it?
If you grow your own food (Not possible to those whom live in urban areas) then your salt intake will become alot lower. Excercising also helps.
I personally would rather have tax payers money used for medicare than the military..least lives are being saved regardless if they deserve it or not.
Who dosent enjoy that once and awhile greasy cheeseburger or those french fries?
dougles
You don't have to grow your own food to reduce your salt intake, you just need to cook more of your meals yourself. The increase in salt is because we have become accustomed to processed foods, which, as you said contain high levels of sodium (MSG is part of the equation, so it isn't just 'salt').
It's a difficult thing to combat though because highly processed foods have been 'engineered' to have a certain taste that people have become acclimated to, and getting people to appreciate the different taste of natural foods can be a challenge. I have even had someone tell me that a grape isn't really a grape because it didn't taste like the grape drink that he would normally drink.
OK so I was nagged into quitting smoking and ALL FOOD tastes awful, so salt (a natural flavor enhancer) becomes imperative.
I just wish all the do gooders and those who strive to get their name in print at any cost with BS food & health articles would just Shut the F up and leave me ( and the multitude who agree with me) to my/our own ruin.
phil.
you don't have to listen to them. Basically what you seem to want is for people to be ignorant about their health, and not just you. You want everyone to be ignorant, because YOU don't want to take personal responsibility.
No I want informed, intelligent and truthful information, not BS that changes every 60 days as some new writer launches a book that contradicts the previous tome on the subject.
I want a media that doesn't give me some of the information I need (the headliner stuff) I want to make my own informed decisions based on research that has not been force fed to me by an hysterical media.
I want sanctimonious ex smokers to pi$$ off, I want self centered pretend athletes to stop trying to convert me into one of their drones.
Do you realize this is the only country in the world that allows prescription drugs to be advertised on TV. No wonder we are a nation of hypochondriacs.
OK; John boy, I TAKE responsibility for MY actions based on information I have researched, though the cacophony of the nonsense going on around me.
so, the topic of this article, though it is redundant because we have been hearing it for many years now, is what? Not informed, not intelligent, not truthful?
And please don't ever call me john boy (you can't even spell it right it seems) again. First off, it is @!$%#ing rude, and second off, it isn't even my name.
The article is absolutely correct that it is difficult to cut back. There are many prepared foods that you wouldn't assume would have that much sodium, but the actual amount is extreme. Example; there are some 90 second rice products out there, some have 900 to 1000 milligrams. If you really pay attention to labels, you will find that there are many products that you need to steer away from. Or better yet, stick to making things yourself. (but why does salt have to taste so good)
No kidding! That's why I went to using a rice steamer (of course rice is STILL bad LOL) and a bread machine. Easy to use and easy to control what goes in them.
I've actually discovered after cutting back on salt, that many processed foods don't taste good any more ... and it wasn't that hard!
Salt content is no secret - it's all written on the package. I bake and cook pretty much everything from scratch. Between the salt and preservatives, and the amount of allowed rat feces and whatnot, I prefer knowing and seeing everything I eat.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/26/fda-approved-rat-hairs-an_n_773608.html#s165326&title=Pizza_Sauce_30
The constant battling over other ingredients causes some of this. When you take sugar and fat out of food, producers figure they have to increase the salt or people will think it too bland. Some processed foods, such as canned tomatoes, have always had a great deal of salt to keep them from turning into mush. Many other foods are salted at some time in their lifetime as a preservative. So many fresh foods are force-farmed and missing a great deal of their nutritional value, but also their taste. People have no idea what a fresh tomato or fresh asparagus tastes like. (A clue --- that stuff in the supermarket doesn't have it.) So salt is added to keep it from being so bland. Salt is necessary in cooking bread as a control for rising. There are lots of reasons why people consume so much salt, but the common cause of most of it is over-processed food.
Good luck with that. So basically, you grow your own wheat, soy, leavening, meat, dairy, vegetables et al? I'd love to see your farm land and all your herds. But if you don't hoe, row, till, plant, pick, mill, feed, milk, slaughter, etc., you're not making it from scratch and you WON'T know or see what is in it, unless it jumps out of the package at you.
Just sayin...
Well, ConwayTwitter, what you say is true HOWEVER using 'fresh' ingredients is STILL way better than a box of processed food any way you look at it. For those out there that are trying to correct some of the dietary problems by going this route let us not discourage them from cooking 'fresh' at home rather than dieting at MickeyDees!
woohoo, we have a bit of an attitude don't we? Just out looking for fights, are ya? I guess it's easier on the internet. You don't have to worry about someone coming after you, huh? LOL
I don't think I said a thing wrong in my post. Don't like it? I could care less.
I'm guessing you might be having a PMS day Diana. Hope it gets better for you, cause you sound miserable.
Show me where it says the Government is enacting legislative restrictions? Where? Oh, that's right, they haven't. That's because they aren't. They are commenting on a study and stating that they recommend people to read labels. That's it.
Jebus, paranoid much?
Look at like New York..
They are preparing legislative restrictions on salt.
Fine. Was that in the article? Nope.
And if NY is doing it, then it needs to be faught, but this was nothing more than a Press Release on a study that was done. Nowhere in the article did it mention that legislation was needed.
My bull@!$%# detector went off on this one so I googled it. Nothing came up about New York restricting salt or preparing legislation. Just a lot of stuff about the mayor of NYC's campaign to spread the word that, .... people eat too much salt.
jeremy - i think that falls under "states rights" the conservatives are so fond of screaming when the fed govt tries to do anything they dont like.
looks like NY is exercising it's rights.
that said...at some point, our healthcare system will collapse if we do nothing.
just read the comments on here, by so many people thumping their chest and saying "I can eat like a pig if I want, it's my right"...
hello mcfly, at the end of the day...we are all participating in the same insurance pool, and we are all paying into the same system...and we cant all get gastric bypass sugeries, or be revived after 3 heart attacks...and expect the system to survive.
at some point, we collectively have to understand there's some responsibility we all have in this process to keep healthcare functioning, and at an affordable cost. I dont think eating like a pig and pretending your personal choices only impact you, are going to cut it in the end...
Maybe they should run an analysis on how much nutrition the Obama's are getting out of their Rose Garden Vegetable Garden after the White House cooks get through inserting spices into the veggies.
Wait a minute....it is obvious.....just check recent photographs of .........
LDO- I'm not sure how "inserting spices into the veggies" makes them less nutritious.
btw
it makes no difference, because all he/she was trying to do was take another pot shot at Michelle's ass.
No way am I giving up my salt lick.
Good lord, is this all they have to do to get a paycheck?
I'm sure in every family there is a least one old lady or great aunt who follows you around the house when you visit or worse, comes to visit you, telling you you should eat healthier, drink only bottled water or a specific type of tea, you should take this vitamin, but not that vitamin, tell you that the shelves in your china closet are dusty and to wear your overshoes and carry a umbrella if it looks like rain in any surrounding state. Do we need to PAY people to nag us like this?
Well, Washington State pays HUNDREDS of State workers to stay at HOME and do nothing.
Just google and see how many MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars have been wasted.
This is almost as bad as NYC paying educators under investigation to stay in a room for eight hours a day doing nothing and getting FULL PAY and BENEFITS. Or, our "elite" Congressmen and women putting EARMARKS into legislation for THEIR kin folks and friends.
As a college student literally everything I eat is processed food. It's much more expensive to eat healthy foods
Rubbish. Raw fruits and frozen vegetables are cheap. Got a microwave? Learn to cook with it.
jstclair - it's not cheaper, it's EASIER
dont confuse the two, you're in college...put that education to use before you come out sounding as dumb as you went in.
Completely agree - you're just being lazy jstclair. Frozen veggies and fruits are especially cheap. Stop making excuses.
Where do you all shop for your fruits? Last time I checked it was inflation run amok at the local grocery store for fresh fruits. A pound or two of grapes with the seeds, $7 is cheap? Vegetables on the other hand is fairly priced and cucumbers along with some other garden varieties, pack a serious nutritional punch! I guess it depends on what part of the country you live in, but here in the Midwest, fruits are almost considered a luxury.
Veggies and fruits are expensive if you just go to stores like Whole Foods. Try Krogers and similar stores, or ones like Sunflower Farmers Markets.
Too much saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and salt are not particularly good for you. But most of us don't eat them all the time, just now and then in moderation. Certainly not a health crisis except in the eyes of government or nannyists like Bloomberg. Support your local farmers and farmers markets.
Eating most fruits and vegetables is a death wish. Never, EVER eat the skins of ANY fruit or vegetable unless you want to die a quick death from cancer. There are layers upon layers of pesticides on the skins that you just can't wash away easily.
After eliminating all the foods listed above as top 10 contributors, what is left? And do I really want to live to 100 if all I can eat is grass? Everything in moderation plus exercise -- If I am a bit high on sodium due to processed foods, so be it.
Yes, George, that's right. You can only eat grass anymore. THAT's the takeaway from this article. *sigh*
I really do wish that others would keep their noses out of my food!
Soitenly! As long as you keep your diabetes and heart disease out of my health care premiums.
NFIL: good luck with that...with the full brunt of Obamacare just around the corner.
I stopped adding salt to just about everything (except baked potatoes) many years ago and don't miss it.
Same with corn syrup and HFCS and fast food.
Takes time but you adjust and you'll be healthier in the long run.
I've always added salt to french fries and eggs, but yes, I've never felt the need to put it on anything else either. HFCS is harder to avoid.
Salt actually can make rice and eggs "tougher" when cooked with them. Only a tiny amount is needed to bake bread as well.
I find it harder to get rid of the sugar than I do the salt .. it's sneakier!
When I go out to eat now, I order the baked potato with butter, AND sour cream...the skins are already have some salt crust. And enjoy every bite
Another crap news. First fat was bad, now some of it is good again, then eggs were bad, now they are sort of good again, then low-fat was good, now we figured out that low fat = high-carb which is sort of bad for you as well. We're running out of things to avoid, so hey, let's take salt.
Must be bad for you, because someone decided how much you're supposed to eat. Forget millions of years of evolution which provided us with a brain that maybe craves what we need? Ever met a pregnant woman and you know what I mean.
Forget that high blood pressure is poorly understood but who cares? Let's just tell everyone cut on salt. I run 2 hours on a treadmill a day. I crave salt. I probably eat 10 grams a day and I love it! My blood pressure is 100/54 and my pulse is 46. Eat my shorts! Stop telling people what not to eat. Life is short. There is no definitive correlation between salt intake and high blood pressure. In fact, we can't explain high blood pressure in most patients. For 95% of high blood pressure cases, the cause cannot be determined. In healthy individuals the kidneys take care of salt just fine. Show me evidence and I will listen. I could not find any definitive correlation between salt intake and high blood pressure.
This is one of those things that's both good and bad. We need some salt to survive but there is such thing as too much and that's what the point of this article is about. I have a family history of heart disease and changed my diet when my father had heart surgery. It was hard at first especially trying to find lower sodium foods in the grocery store. However, it has been a good change and if it means that the chances of having a heart attack go down then that's good.
It does take time and yes as a general rule healthy foods are more expensive. But what most of the people who are reluctant to change don't want to admit is that something could be good. Yes, you can reduce and if you still have to have something that is loaded in sodium then save it for a special occasion. You can still eat it; just not as much or as often.
As other have pointed out, if you already have high blood pressure, lowering your salt concumption *may* help. If not, and you are healthy and drink a normal amount, dietary sodium doesn;t have much of an impact. I realized that many physicians, preaching out of date information, were saying such things, but it's a little perplexing that scientists aren't reading their own studies. They are also being very unclear: the 'high sodium' intake that they mention comes mostly from preprepared food and eating out, not reasonably salted food at home. It's a travesty thet don't square off on the food and advertizing industries for promoting this, instead of already confused and bad information battered individuals.
Wait just a little while and the Obama's will ban our salt use next, they will most certainly tell the schools they can not use it.
tin foil is on sale at the piggly wiggly...
They already have in many states, banning soft drink and snack machines, and serving food in the cafeteria that most kids simply won't eat.
$273 billion in health care costs? How do these guys come up with these figures anyway? I wonder how much they pissed away on this useless study?
Once again, the government needs to mind their own damned business!!!!! We've been told, we know, now shut the hell up!!!
This will be easily remedied once we are on the government approved Soylent Green. ;-(
Do we really need the CDC to tell us this? This is about as much of a non-story as I've ever seen on MSNBC.
Why is a "study" needed when all one has to do is look on any food container to see that if one takes more than an teaspoon full, one will be exceeding the recommended daily amount.
Whack on the food processors. Why do they have to put so much of the $hit in our food? Come on FDA - wake the F*CK UP!!!!
Yeah, yeah...we eat too much salt and too much sugar...ity doesn't take an expert to make these claims. Like all the ret of our federal agencies, the FDA needs to just do its job for a change.
People posting here, it's not what's in the salt shaker that is killing you!! Look at the food containers. A can of soup, baked beans, hot dogs all have sodium added in some form. If the food is more processed, it is likely that the sodium content is higher. Salt, the more common form of sodium, is also included in processed foods that can be reconstituted with water (processed meats, soups, bouillon cubes). Other types of sodium include baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, monosodium glutamate, sodium benzoate, sodium saccharin and sodium nitrate.
Wake up!!!! You don't need this article,to realize that you are being poisoned. If you try to adhere to the recommended daily allowances, you probably will exceed the sodium amount each and every day.
I get so tired of the expression of "wake up" on these forums. I know how to eat right, whether I do so on any particular day depends on my factors. Most of our senior citizens have eaten pretty much what they want for decades. And a large portion of them are healthy.
Salt is still commonly used as a preservative. CDC should evaluate the replacement chemical preservatives being used. My bet is you will go back to salt.
Check this out: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/sea-salt-benefits.html
Just in case the link gets trampled, here it is in long hand..www.buzzle.com/articles/sea-salt-benefits.html
I have switched for the most part and after some trial and error examples, have found it actually seems to take less of a sprinkle of sea salt to equal the same portion of table salt. That Dash stuff works too but sometimes after a hard day of physical exertion a salty dish seems to hit the spot and no matter how much I Dash it, it never seems enough. On top of that, drinking tons of water keeps ones self flushed in more ways than one. If we get more processed foods that incorporate sea salt and people watch their intake levels of that nasty little substance known as Carbonated Syrup, (corn syrup) maybe healthy diets would actually mean healthy! Just sayin....
We totally eat too much salt - but unless you never go out to a restaurant and never eat any processed food at all, then its unavoidable. Basic restaurant meals can have 3 times the daily allowance of salt just in the entree... its ridiculous. Food companies should be force to cut down on the salt levels to a maximum per serving portion.
No restaurant or food company should be "forced" to limit salt, that is up to the eater, not the government.
That's why we don't eat out. My husband is a very healthy man in his mid-80s because he adheres to a low-fat, low-sodium diet and walks 2+ miles every day and exercises. He's also very happy because he can still do many things that his contemporaries and even those people 10-20 years younger than he is cannot do. It's all about moderation and exercise. I know there are people who want to eat what they want and they don't care -- until they're lying on that gurney with a heart attack or stroke. Even then some don't care. Just like the person who keeps smoking even after being told of the cancer risks. Unfortunately, it is not only themselves who is hurt by their decisions -- their spouses, their children, grandchildren watch a loved one die an early death and pay the medical costs thereof.
Not surprising given the high level of obesity in the US too...sodium contributes to retaining water in the body.
water does NOT equal fat...
Manufacturer's, in order to make their "food" palatable, add salt, in every way, shape and form.
Requiring manufacturer's to reduce the amount of salt and additives, meant to increase "shelf life", is the first step. Breaking American's "taste" for salt is the second step. Third, require the FDA to set maximum amounts of additives, based on health instead of preservation.
Grocery stores stock dozens, if not hundreds, of the same product. Do we need 20 brands of peanut butter!
Yes, if that is what the customer wants. More brands mean more choices. I prefer the natural peanut butter myself, no sugar and just a tad of salt.