In February, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article* that highlighted salt as one of the major contributing factors to heart disease in the United States. The authors estimated that a 3g reduction in salt (or 2300mg reduction in sodium) intake per day per person would reduce annual new cases of coronary heart disease by 60,000-120,000 and heart attack by 54,000-99,000, thus saving $10-24 billion in healthcare costs each year. That's a lot of saved lives and a lot of saved money! In fact, the authors suggested that as a nation, the U.S. population would receive a benefit from reducing salt intake that is about equal to all the various anti-high blood pressure therapies combined.

---

Reducing salt intake by just a little bit can have a very significant positive impact on your long-term health. But how can you decrease salt in your diet? The best way to reduce salt intake is to be aware of what you're eating and what has salt in it. As a general rules, ways to reduce salt intake include:

• Eat fewer processed foods (eg. frozen dinners, chips and crackers)
• Avoid fast food
• Eat fresh fruit/veggies instead of canned ones
• Don't overload on condiments (e.g. ketchup, soy sauce)
• Use herbs instead of salt for flavoring
• Avoid sodas
• Read food labels in order to avoid food high in salt
• Don't add extra salt to food

 

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) recommends consuming no more than 5.8g of salt (2300mg of sodium) per day for healthy individuals, and no more than 3.8g of salt (1500mg of sodium) per day for individuals at risk (>40 years old, African American, or hypertension). Remember, you should always consult your healthcare provider before making any diet changes.
*http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/NEJMoa0907355v1.pdf

By: the Physicians of Health Butler
[5/6/2010]

You must be registered to post comments!