Weekend Edition Hot off the Press #10: Salt: It's What's for Dinner

Next time you go to eat, check those nutrition facts. Salt is in many of the packaged foods available out there. Even something as simple as a home-prepared sandwich can send your sodium levels soaring.

We've previously reported on salt; it's used for food preservation, taste, and nutrition. However, the USDA recently released new dietary guidelines that now recommend a lower salt intake for certain "at-risk" groups. These groups include African Americans, people over the age of 51, and people with diabetes, high blood pressure, or chronic kidney disease. People in these groups tend to have blood pressure levels that are more sensitive to sodium. It's recommended that they only consume 1,500 mg a day compared to the 2,300 mg advised for the general population.

Why the change? According to the USDA, a growing body of research suggests that your blood pressure decreases as you eat less sodium. The recommended sodium levels are based on a study called "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)-Sodium trial" conducted by the National Institutes of Health. The study found that aiming for a sodium intake of 2,300 mg reduced the average blood pressure of the participants. Blood pressure was lowered even further when participants tried to eat just 1,200 mg of sodium a day.

High blood pressure is a big concern when putting together these recommendations because it's a large, contributing factor in cardiovascular disease, congestive heart failure, and kidney disease. Despite the USDA's maintained recommendation of 2,300 mg of sodium a day for the general population, health groups like the American Heart Association still recommend that you eat no more than 1,500 mg of salt each day, even if you are not in one of the mentioned "at-risk" groups.

So how can you lower the amount of sodium you're ingesting each day? Of course, be conscious of labels and nutrition facts on packaged foods. However, high-sodium foods are not always to blame. Remember that a sprinkle of salt here and there in your own home-cooked meals can add up over the day. Just ¼ tsp. of salt is 500 mg of sodium. That's a third of your total daily intake! The USDA notes that frequently eating foods that are low in sodium can still contribute to excess ingestion. About 7% of the sodium in the U.S. diet is from yeast-breads and 5% is from pasta. Did you expect that?

Overall, these new recommendations are emphasizing the impact that excess sodium can have on the human body. Whether you have high blood pressure now or not, monitoring your salt intake is now just as important as eating the correct amount of calories or staying on top of how much fat you consume.

By Julia L.