Sodium intake from processed and restaurant foods contributes to increased rates of high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. Decreasing sodium intake to within recommended limits could prevent thousands of deaths annually.
Americans eat too much sodium, commonly consumed as salt. High sodium consumption raises blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, the nation's first and third leading causes of death, respectively.
Research shows a dose-dependent relationship between consuming too much salt and elevated blood pressure. When salt intake is reduced, blood pressure begins decreasing for most people within a few days to weeks. Populations who consume diets low in salt do not experience the increase in blood pressure with age that is seen in most Western countries.
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Ever individuals health, DNA, bio-chemistry is different. Applying studies to the world population is hard a sell. Sure , we should be eating more organic and less processed food. Your body needs salt and sugar to some degree. Just like we need water to stay hydrated and drink milk for calcium. Health insurance companies should add incentives to their plans so people would be more willing to be healthier. Better in shape and healthy, less the insurance industry pays out. So if you can prove your doing well, why not get a cut in your health insurance costs. I know many people will argue that's unfair to those with uncontrollable health issues.. cancer..etc Just look at it this way, if the majority of people are well, than the remaining can benefit from the extra funds to cover such extreme issues.. I know the insurance companies wouldn't like that either, but at some point how much profit does the industry truly need to operate.
Well by golly, I think Obamer and his liberal whackos should impose a salt tax. Another nifty way to raise revenue so they can keep spending.
I never realized how much my salt intake had increased until I went to the doctor about a month ago because I kept waking up every morning with swollen hands. The first thing he asked me about was my diet. Since my husband was deployed and all I had to do was fend for myself for meals, I ate a lot of TV dinners and microwavable meals. My doctor just looked at me and said "well duh! You're probably getting four times the amount of sodium than is good for you." And sure enough, I cut back on my sodium and within weeks my hands stopped swelling up.
Uhh Wrong, take it from someone who has had a host of health issues and is on a salt restrictive diet. There are plenty of studies liking high sodium levels to health problems, try using google you may learn something
Aaron, he said nothing about McDonald's or chicken nuggets. Your's is the mentality that anything organic is better than anything that isn't. If organic bottled water were offered, you'd buy it. We like Annie's pasta and cheese. Without noticing that the box quietly says organic pasta, people like you pay 50% more for the version that's packaged as ORGANIC. They appreciate your business.
I don't believe I have ever seen a scientific study showing that salt is harmful to people that don't already have high blood pressure or heart problems (the majority of us). I'm not sure why this lack of proof is ignored by our health officials except that they say "Why not? People don't really need it". The truth seems to take a hit "for the public's good" I don't work for a salt company but have used a lot of salt for decades and my doctor told me in Feb my blood pressure and pulse were perfect. I wonder why? Less distortion, more truthfulness please
In some people it probably does the opposite since I can cause the blood to become thinner.
Drinking lots of water helps too. It's probably part of the reason we get thirsty when we eat too much salt, our bodies are trying to get us to flush some of it out again.
Since when is this news? It's been a well know fact for quite a while. Who paid for this inane study? I sure hope it wasn't the taxpayer!
This article contains misinformation. "Eating a lot of sodium increases blood pressure, which increases the risk for stroke" is not true. Sodium can increase blood pressure in certain individuals but it does not increase blood pressure in all individuals. The CDC article clearly qualifies the warnings with "can"
While organic food can be pricey, I consider it cheaper than the treatment of whatever conditions might result from the pesticides and chemical fertilizers that are on a lot of our food. I have an advantage, though–my dad has a large garden where he grows organic fruits and vegetables. If it weren't for that, I'd never be able to afford organic food on a regular basis.
Yup-the government is going to tak away our salt!!!
Salt? SALT?
I like salt……….
I am one of the people who are trying to voluntarily cut salt out from their diets before any health issues occur. This is really hard as lots of things contain large amounts of sodium that you wouldn't expect. I finally found a sodium free bread at my local Trader Joe's for instance for my lunches. For seasoning instead of using salt I typically grind up garlic cloves, rosemary, and dill in a mortar and use that instead. Tastes great! Also, DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!!! And MORE WATER! Seriously, water flushes all that crud out of your system. Most Americans also don't drink enough water.
I feel a new "law" coming on.
Recently I kept a log for 30 days of everything I ate and drank and used the USDA Nutrient Data web site to compile nutrient data. The greatest surprise was the total average sodium I consumed each day. My goal was less than 1,500 grams, but the actual amount was approximately 3,500 grams. I eat a lot of frozen vegetables and was surprised at the sodium content of things like broccoli, lima beans, cauliflower, carrots, etc.
Lets make it 0mg! That way liars^W statisticians can say that 100% of people are getting too much salt!
No no no, lets make it -1500mg! Even better!!!
who cares. What I eat is none of your business!!!!
I have been trying to eat better, and excersise. One thing about the diet is that if you eat anything prepared it has loads of salt. Even the healthy prepared foods have lots of salt. I would love to cook every meal if I had the time but, I wish they would use some salt alternatives, however this would cut into the profits as they are more expensive and people love salt.
I personally have low blood pressure to the point I was told to eat more salt even though I put salt on everything!!!! I love salt and would hate to have to give it up so when they said eat more I thought they were crazy but if it will raise my blood pressure then who am I to argue?!
I run a restaurant, and we have some moderately salted dishes. They taste fine, but many of our customers douse the entire plate with soy sauce. It's pretty gross, but they love it.
I don't even use a salt shaker ever! My parents turned me off many years ago just watching how much salt they pour on
all their food, even before they taste it..it is a big turn off for me! Don't miss it, and it is in different foods anyway, we all get
enough of it without adding more to our food. I now cannot stand the taste of salt! If you want to be really unhealthy then eat
all the salt you want…
I admit that I'm a salt addict. I love saltines and tuna fish for lunch so I don't think that's helping. I tried cutting out sweets and carbs, but I don't think anybody will every concede to cutting out salt. It is so pervasive in our dishes that it's almost impossible to phase out.
I love salt
Yes buying organic is more expensive. But it is worth it. Food is your bodies fuel, it keeps you running. What could be more important than what you put in your body for fuel? Not to mention it taste so much better. I mean organic ketchup is one of the best things i've ever had, its way better than the regular corn sryup made crap. So go on and keep eating your processed chicken nuggets. McDonald's appreciate your business.
I *love* salt and have known that I imbibe too much. I'm only 23 but I have recently decided if I keep up my salt habits, I'll run into blood pressure problems later on and so I've substantially altered my diet. Instead of using salt to season my food, I use crushed red pepper, garlic powder or other spices to satisfy my desire for flavor. And this *does* work! I'm not pouring salt on my food anymore and I'm still enjoying it.
okay…. i dont see how anyone can avoid salt then. just go to the gym more and sweat it out i guess.
Two notes on this: first (this isn't mentioned in the article), the study is from 2005-2006.
Soo.. at this point it's pretty much impossible to avoid ridiculously high levels of sodium unless we cook and prepare all of our meals from scratch, down to totally organic natural ingredients.