Last week's Chicago Tribune published a long feature on our addiction to salt, which seems to be growing, despite the AMA's request that salt to be stripped of its "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) status. The article goes into some detail about why we are addicted, how salt is necessary for our bodies, and how cutting out excess salt could improve health. However, the most helpful part of the article is the list of simple ways to cut back on salt in your diet:

• Eat fewer boxed and canned foods.
• Use fresh meats instead of canned, cured, smoked or processed.
• Rather than adding salt during cooking, sprinkle it on at the table.
• Use fresh or plain frozen vegetables instead of canned.
• Rinse canned vegetables, which will remove sodium that was added during processing.
• Make your own salad dressing and marinades.
• Make your own stock and gravy.
• At restaurants, order grilled, baked, steamed or poached instead of fried, battered, smothered or gratineed.

Additionally, the article lists some common food items, both at home and in restaurants, that are veritable salt bombs.

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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