30% of the American public has hypertension, much due to excessive sodium (salt) intake.
American adults consume about 3400 mg sodium a day, but the recommended amount is 2300 mg. Just reducing sodium consumption to 2300 mg/day could reduce cases of hypertension by 11 million.
One of the first studies to estimate the economic impact of cutting salt intake in the US found that $18 billion in health care costs for hypertension, and $32 billion for improved quality of life could be eliminated if we used less salt. The study appears in the September/October, 2009 issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion
The researchers say their estimations are conservative, because they didn't calculate the savings for illnesses such as heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) diseases, where sodium consumption plays a less-defined role.
Strategies are desperately needed to lower sodium intake
Although the FDA has recently opened proceedings to evaluate the regulatory status of salt and sodium, despite knowledge of the dangers of salt and sodium, policies have remained unchanged for 40 years.
Studies indicate that 75% of dietary salt intake in the US population comes from processed foods rather than sources added during cooking or at the table. This is why throwing away the salt shaker may not help.
.jpg)
photo:morguefile
Here are some suggestions for lowering your salt and sodium intake:
photo: Freeimage.co.uk
- Eat more fresh fruits, vegetables, and unsalted nuts and seeds
- Eat fewer canned, frozen, bakery, and restaurant items or ask for low-salt items
- Look for canned and frozen vegetables that say, "no salt added"
- If you can't find "no salt added" canned foods, rinse your tuna, vegetables, etc., under running water before eating
- Read all labels for sodium content before you buy an item; your health is worth the extra time it takes; bring a small magnifying glass with you if need be when you go shopping; that label information can be pretty small
- Use herbs to increase food flavor: rosemary, garlic, oregano, red pepper (a little goes a long way), and other non-sodium herbs can spice up your food
- Put a few drops of olive oil and squeeze a lemon on vegetables, rice, soup, etc.
-
Marinate meat, chicken, or fish in balsamic vinegar and honey, not barbecue sauce unless it's low salt, or use low-salt Cajun spices and a little olive oil
Dip vegetables like squash and eggplant in oil or egg and then roll in chopped nuts or seeds before baking
Encourage the FDA to have a front-of-package labeling system that identifies food products as low salt (green), medium salt (yellow) or high salt (red); Britain uses this system and it has been highly effective, along with an aggressive advertising campaign to lower salt consumption
- To contact the FDA...
- Main FDA phone number 1-888-463-6332
- or Center for Food Safety 1-888-7233366
email: consumer@fda.gov to contact the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
- Letting go of salt can be hard at first, but according to astronutrition.com, you will detox and be free from the addiction to sodium in a short time. Then you will finally be able to taste the food, not the salt. Your hypertension will drop and you will have a better chance of living longer and healthier!
-
To stay informed about health articles as they happen, be sure to click on Subscribe at the top of this page to receive our email notifications, or follow me on Twitter by clicking on: http://www.twitter.com/ccc10
copyright, 2009, Carolyn Chambers Clark
Comments