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The American Medical Association is pushing to get warning labels on high-salt foods and, over the next 10 years, get those salt levels reduced by 50%. The group says that Americans eat twice as much salt as they should and that high levels of salt consumption can lead to an increased risk "for high blood pressure and may be an independent risk factor for other cardiovascular problems."
The Food Products Association, which is a food and beverage trade organization, says that the AMA's desire for this policy is misguided. Not only is salt naturally occurring in some foods, and an important flavor enhancer and natural preservative in others, but the link between salt and health problems is not crystal clear. It is a "risk factor for" and not "a cause of" the various health concerns that it has been linked to. Food groups say that current labels, which list the amount of sodium in foods, should be sufficient for consumers to make informed decisions on their foods.
The debate between the two parties is strong enough that the FDA may hold a hearing in the near future to determine the status of salt as a "safe food."
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6-20-2006 @5:59PM Mrs. Block said... I think less salt would be great.It is very hard to find food with low salt or no salt,and if you are on a 2000 mg per day like the Dr has me on it is hard.
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6-20-2006 @6:14PM Denise Daile said... It is about time!!! I have been trying to get places to stop using so much salt, especially salt with iodine. As I got older I develped an allergy to iodine and break out in hives.
Thank you!
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6-20-2006 @6:33PM Butch Starkey said... It's not the salt that's the problem, it's the things added to salt to make it pour easier. Kosher salt is the best, table salt is poison.
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6-20-2006 @6:35PM lucille said... I think people should check the sodium level in
soft drinks they are very HIGH and the soft drink
companys never tell you about that high content
either.
People drink too much of it and that can cause swelling and hypertension.
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6-20-2006 @6:44PM Ellie Mae said... I personally am salt sensitive and watch my intake carefully. If I don't watch my BP spirals out of control. However, I think there is mounting evidence that salt sensitivity is genetic and not everyone has this problem. It is probably better to educate persons who are genetically predisposed like myself than to make across the board recommendations. I think the goverment will be percieved as being big brotherish it it trys to reduce everyone's salt intake and will fail. At the moment we are not even sure if cutting salt intake might be harmful to some persons. Remember the cholesterol cutting frenzie of 20 years ago when no one knew about transfats. Everyone was eating margarine that was worse for them than butter because scientific data on fat and cholesterol was incomplete. Please don't make that mistake again. What if you do cut everyones salt intake across the board and then find out, "Whoops, we have a big increase in goiters". All I am saying is, "go carefully".
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6-20-2006 @6:50PM Becky Daines said... For someone who has high blood pressure to start with, salt can agravate it to be even higher. For someone who does not suffer from high blood pressure, salt will affect it only transiently, and not dangerously so. From reading some of the above comments, it appears that salt may not necessarily raise the blood pressure of everyone who has been diagnosed with hypertension. It appears that each person must figure out what is best for him/herself. As for me, I KNOW that the "white coat" causes MINE to go up!
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6-20-2006 @6:51PM Jeanna Dennis said... My husband and I went on a low sodium/low fat diet four weeks ago. I have lost 17 lbs and he has lost 15 lbs. We eat plenty, but use fresh or frozen veggies since they are SO MUCH lower in sodium that canned goods. We also eat fresh meats and fish to avoid sodium used as a preservative. Our doctor says that sodium is an appetite stimulant. After about two weeks on this diet we quit craving salt.We use other spices to flavor foods. We still get some in our foods, but it is a drastic cutback...and we feel great!
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6-20-2006 @7:07PM Lynn said... People who are under 50, who have not yet developed HBP and think they are safe, beware! Many times HBP does not develop until later. I've always liked salty foods, but must now watch my salt intake. I didn't develop HBP until age 55. I too thought I was safe. Just because you don't have it when you are young, doesn't mean you won't have it one day. I wish I had gotten used to foods with lower salt when I was younger. I think it's a GREAT idea to mark foods that have high salt content. I do not believe I have HBP because of salt, but we all know it does affect it.
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6-20-2006 @7:19PM Linda said... I've been hoping they would start making more products without salt for years now, ever since I was diagnosed with CHF (congestive heart failure).
I've been limited to 2,000mg of salt per day but if I reach even half that amount I get fluid build up all through my body and especially around my heart,(which gives me pain to inhail any air and makes my chest hurt really bad if I try to lie down, in any position).
Next time you go to the store look at the amounts of sodium they add. And then try to find canned and prosessed foods that are salt free.
They accually do have canned corn, green beans and peas with no salt added,I've even found some potatoe chips that were salt free, but not much more can be found, unless you eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies, there aren't many choices.
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6-20-2006 @7:26PM adorgan said... Judging by the comments I've read, the amount of salt in that can be tolerated in one's diet is very individualized. Therefore, I would approve of lowering the amount of salt in processed foods. Those who are highly sensitive to NaCl may then have the option of using at least some of the processed foods unavailable to them now. While those who want more salt can always keep the shaker handy. You can always add more salt; but you can't remove it.
To Jason, sea salt is still primarily NaCl. However, it does not contain traces of the chemicals used in processing table salt and does contain the minerals removed during the processing of table salt.
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6-20-2006 @7:38PM Buddy said... People leave me to decide what and how much salt I want on my food. Unseasoned food is for the dogs.
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6-20-2006 @7:39PM Kim said... those health nazis are EVERYWHERE ....
be wary ... be very wary of those who want to protect your health
it'd be nice if they went after pollutants instead
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6-20-2006 @7:55PM Norman Johnson said... I agree about potassium chloride(KCl) not being a good substitute for salt(NaCl).A Potassium chloride solution is injected into a condemmed person as the third and final step in lethal injection execution. It stops the heart.I once tried that product, Lite Salt, that contains KCl, and right away, I felt my heartbeat having a slightly irregular rhythm.
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6-20-2006 @7:59PM I never liked much salt said... Blood pressure is controlled by the balance between sodium and potassium in your body, also probably by other factors (e.g. calcium) as well. About 6yrs ago the AMA readjusted the classification scheme for b.p., so that what used to be just "Borderline" was shifted up to "High." My husband's b.p. had always been "Borderline" until that year, when it suddenly became "High." That was when his doctor tried to pressure him into going on meds to lower his b.p. Husb. opted to make changes in his diet and exercise more, against his doctor's advice! Docs can be so stupid sometimes - they know people canNOT go off b.p. meds EVER without seriously adverse effects, yet this doc tried to condemn a 30y/o man to a lifetime on b.p. meds instead of letting him TRY to manage it w/o meds first. Well, I never liked salt much, so I showed my husb. some tricks like using onion and/or garlic powder as a substitute, and also many other herbs and spices to add flavor. We made major adjustments in our menu -- greatly decreased high-sodium foods (including tomatoes - look for low sodium tom. sauce or paste); also added high potassium foods (like potatoes -- bake or boil, don't fry; use olive oil & non-sodium seasonings - great taste!). In just 3wks his b.p. was beautifully low, and his silly dr. was gnashing her teeth -- "Drats! Lost another Rx to common sense!"
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6-20-2006 @8:10PM Diane said... This is a real eye opener, i never thought I would find such hostility on a blog, must be my own naivete showing. Anyway power to those of you who are not salt senstive(yet), eat as much as you like, as for the rest of us who do care for our health...the labels are a god send. I too, wish that they would extend the rule to restaurants. I recently went to a Chinese food website and was actually floored at the sodium ct. And I thought steamed veggies were healthy(800 mg.), but not at that restaurant, which made me wonder, how many other places aare just as deceiving. Take care of your health each of you, this is not a dress rehearsal, this is it. One luv, One life.
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6-20-2006 @8:15PM Davis said... My doctor stressed to me for years that if I lowered my salt intake, it would lower my high blood pressure.
Being very stubborn and loving my salty food, I refused to believe it.
Recently, my Mother was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and put on a very low sodium diet.
Since I had to learn to cook for her with this restriction, it really did make a difference for me, too. I stuck to her diet and my blood pressure dropped so much that the doctor was able to reduce my medicine drasticly. He even feels that soon I may be able to discontinue all of my blood pressure meds. What a blessing. I would encourage anyone with high blood pressure to at least give it a try.
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6-20-2006 @8:28PM josie said... I reduce my salt intake as per ordered by my physician not because of high blood pressure but because of liver disorder. I have been trying to lose weight for the last 30 years and it is only now that I have lost 35 lbs but feel great and thin.the food tastes better with the soices and vegetables Looking for no sodium or low salt food has been very difficult but they are there . It is necessary to read the labels in food and request from the grocery store items of this nature. If the demand is there, the cost and availability in stores will increase
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6-20-2006 @11:09PM From a Great Lakes Salt Mining State said... To Jason and adorgan: Just to clarify, PURE SALT = sodium + chlorine. Each of these chemicals is potentially dangerous by themselves (pure sodium ignites in water; chlorine is a poison when ingested in its pure form). However, when they combine as sodium chloride (NaCl) they form a substance that is vital to human survival. It maintains proper blood volume and helps keep the correct balance of water in and around cells and tissues. It is necessary for proper functioning of nerve fibers, food digestion, and heartbeat regulation. Together, sodium, magnesium, calcium, and potassium regulate the body's metabolism. Also, sodium and potassium work together to maintain the proper acid/alkaline balance of blood and are necessary for proper muscle functioning.
Salt purification always relies on water (not "chemicals"). The main difference between "sea salt" and "table salt" is the size of the crystals. Crystal size is determined by the rate of evaporation. Modern vacuum evaporators allow for smaller crystal size; slower solar evaporation results in coarser crystals. Sea salt is not "healthier" or more mineral rich (while it contains minerals not found in table salt or in rock salt, in fact, the minerals are considered to be "impurities" that are removed in the production process). Sea salt does not contain significant levels of iodine, therefore cannot be relied upon to prevent goiter unless it is fortified. The culinary attraction for sea salt is the "zing" of crunching into a large salt crystal. Otherwise, it is chemically identical to the smaller crystals of table salt.
There are three main salt production processes which humans have used since pre-historical times. The most ancient of these is probably the solar method, in which sea water is poured into pits to allow solar and wind evaporation to occur, leaving salt behind. In its simplest form, this method produces a salt that is about 80-85% pure NaCl. The remaining impurities include calcium salts, magnesium salts, and water. In a properly designed salt works purity can be raised to 90-95%, and if washed (with water, not chemicals) and dried its purity can be raised to 99%. Government regulations demand higher purity; however in some areas of the world it is much more difficult to regulate salt production. Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America rely heavily on solar evaporation salt production.
Central Asia, Europe and North America have access to rock salt mines. These areas were once under oceans that deposited salts into great salt domes. In shallow deposits, the salt can be dug out with simple pick axes, but in modern mines rock salt is blasted. In deeper deposits, fresh water is injected at high pressures to dissolve the salt into a brine solution, then transferred to vacuum drying pans or solar pits. Rock salt is highly pure, so it requires very little purification. Magnesium impurity is rare; more frequently, insoluables are found in rock salt, but can be separated.
Find more fascinating salt info @ http://www.du.edu/~jcalvert/phys/salt.htm, http://www.geo.msu.edu/geo333/gypsummining.html, http://www.saltinstitute.org/14.html and @ http://indorgs.virginia.edu/iccidd/iodman/iodman5.htm
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6-20-2006 @11:54PM For Education not Hysteria said... We don't need a WARNING to be added to already-overcrowded package labelling. They already list the sodium content so I can monitor what I get from processed foods (I'm limited to 1200mg/day, like someone who posted earlier).
Hint to the person whose "old eyes" can't read the small print: GET A LITTLE MAGNIFYING GLASS! It's terrific - I take mine shopping (& if it's good I buy it a treat ;).
More than just limiting sodium, we have to balance it with potassium. If those are out of whack, so are our bodies. Potatoes, rice, and many other foods are high in potassium, but it's not always listed on the labels. We need better education on foods containing potassium. Also, restaurant fries have the potassium salted right out of them -- i.e., the amount of salt skews the balance. I always ask for UNSALTED FRIES when I occasionally order those greasy things. Even fast food joints are happy to cater to my wishes -- though I might have to wait a couple minutes for the unsalted batch.
Finally, BEWARE OF LOW-FAT PROCESSED FOODS! If it says "Low Fat" on the label, they add sodium past the roof. The trade-off is not worth the minimal amount of fat removed from the product, whether it's microwave popcorn, a bag of potato chips or a pack of cookies (funny how it's almost always snack food). You're much better off choosing the "Low Sodium" model, even if it is "full fat".
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