Salt and Your Health

Posted on | July 15, 2008 | Comments Off on Salt and Your Health

Are you getting too much of it?The average American consumes two to three times as much salt as she or he should on a daily basis, and only 15% of that comes from the salt shaker. About 10% occurs naturally in foods, and a whopping 75% is put there by the food industry.

So what’s the problem? Excessive salt intake leads to high blood pressure, and high blood pressure, which leads to cardiovascular disease, is a silent and deadly health problem in our nation.

We need about half a gram of salt a day for normal function. But on average, Americans consume about 4 grams and many probably don’t even realize it. The food industry adds salt to everything from breakfast cereals to cheeses because it creates a taste we Americans crave. We tend to buy foods that are high in sodium and shun those that are not.

The sodium in salt is what drives our blood pressure up. Once this concentrated mineral is in our blood stream, it tends to draw in more water, expanding blood volume. And this added volume puts more pressure on the blood channels and the heart itself. The ultimate result is cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Approximately 30% of the U.S. population has high blood pressure, but some groups are more prone to it than others. Nearly 70% of Americans over age 80 have high blood pressure, for example. And African Americans are 40% more likely than whites to suffer from high blood pressure, they’re 50% more likely to die of heart disease, and 80% more likely to die from a stroke. That’s why it’s recommended that seniors and African Americans of all ages consume no more than 1.5 grams of sodium a day, compared to the 2.3 grams a day recommended for the rest of the population.

So what can we do to take more control of our own sodium intake? First, read the labels. Keep your total intake per day of sodium at or below 2.3 grams, except for African Americans and the elderly, who should only consume 1.5 grams a day. Second, watch what you eat at restaurants. A single meal often contains 4 grams of sodium. Third, remove the salt shaker from your table at home. Finally, be disciplined: studies also show that once you start to cut back, cravings disappear rapidly.

What’s your opinion on the role our food manufacturers play in our tendency to eat too much salt? Should they be doing more to keep sodium levels lower in food? Watch this week’s video, embedded in this blog post, or read the full transcript below. Then post a comment and let us know how you feel.