 February 1st, 2011
01:00 PM ET
So – you've had a day to sit with the government's new 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and pore through all 100-ish pages, right? There's plenty of smart health advice in there (we'll walk you through that later this afternoon) but here's what stuck out for most folks. From CNN Medical Unit's Val Willingham's report yesterday:
It's often hard to wrap your head around grams and milligrams, but a teaspoon - have you taken that out of the drawer and had a peek since yesterday? That's not a lot of rock, and as Americans, we've developed a serious addiction to this stuff. Will this be an issue for you? |
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We have watched our salt intake for 32 years, my husbands father had to watch his salt intake, thus my husband was not used to salt in his food. It took over 25 years to use up carton of salt with moderate baking.
The problem isn't always the salt you cook with it is the canned goods you serve. Start reading the contents on all the processed products you buy, you will be shocked at the sodium content. Same as when you eat out you have no control of the amount of salt that is cooked into the food. Watch the food channels and just see how much salt is used in the dishes.
I don't care. I'm healthy and I plan to eat as much salt as I want. That being said, I live in the desert and live a very active lifestyle (I'm in the military). I, and those in a similar situation, face two major health problems. Dehydration: activity in the desert, not a surprise. Hyponatremia: this is when your body does not have enough salt and is often a result of drinking too much water in a hot climate. Not many people know about this one. The easiest way to avoid the second is to drink gatorade (electrolytes are a type of salt) or put salt on everything you eat. Therefore, I plan to eat as much salt as I want, but not everyone should do the same.
Misleading. The article fails to note that only 23% of the population is sodium-sensitive with blood pressure affected by salt. I'm not one of them. I eat a crapload of salt, tons of it. I still have low blood pressure at 55. The rest of us can enjoy all the salt we want.
Pretty soon Obama will be telling everyone what time to go to bed, what time to wake up, what time to eat, etc,etc! Stay out of my life Obama!
To me, it is every bit as disturbing to have BigFoodCorps giving me no choice (except not to purchase their products) about the amount of salt I consume as it seems to be to others to have the government telling people to make a choice.
To the best of my ability I gave up salt about 1965 ... and love the great taste of foods, sometimes plain and sometimes prepared by me with various other seasonings. I eat less meat than I used to do, so can add a little bit salt found in olives, cheeses, and some other good things. - That said, it would be wonderful to grab a can of soup once in a while ... but my body cannot tolerate it / even the so-called low sodium items. - Quantities of salt added to prepared foods seems to have increased considerably over the past 40 years and it is hard to understand why this should be so.
I think Salt,sugar,fats should be taxed! That way the trolls that stay at home and don't work can collect there welfare checks and food stamps for the rest of there lifes.....Tax me!!!!!
Salt, in balance with Potassium is essential to proper muscle function (do a web search on sodium-potassium pump). Too much salt is not the problem. Too much other things that act like salt in processed food, along with a healthy (or unhealthy, as you would have it) dose of salt is what is stressing our bodies. Chuck the processed foods. Do your darndest to cook and eat fresh foods.
It really is not feasible. Two glasses of milk and two slices of bread and you have half your day's sodium already. You can't eat any normal cheese or cottage cheese. No normal salad dressing. The only way you can achieve this is to consume no processed food whatever (a good thing), make everything yourself from basic raw ingredients, and add no salt in cooking. It means giving up a lot of things you might have enjoyed since you were a child. I would really miss cheese, and bread without any salt is nasty.
I try to base my diet on what tastes good, and I plan to continue to do so. I pay little attention to these so-called healthy food guidelines. I already love vegetables prepared at home using simple, whole real food ingredients. Eating processed, fast food is the problem. Buy local, real food, and don't eat too much.
There's a new kind of salt that has no sodium. It's called magnesal. Based on magnesium. When mixed 50/50 with regular salt it tastes and acts substantially like salt. Unlike other salt substitutes it can be used in cooking and processed foods. The consumer product is called Smart Salt. It's just now coming to market and is going to be huge.
After being diagnosed with hypertension 3 years ago (at the age of 52), I reduced my sodium intake and food portions and increased my physical activity in an effort to bring down my blood pressure without using meds. I cook my own meals, eat little or no processed foods, and drink lots of water. I have lost 50 pounds and have more energy than ever before. My bp is now normal and I do not have to rely on medications. It works for me so I will continue what I'm doing. :)
Low Salt intake = Low Iodine levels in Thyroid >>> GOITER
The young forget (or have not learned) history.
salt is healthy !!!! in limited quantities which I exceed according to the Government standards by 3x
try ridding yourself of these items instead
1. Processed foods lunchen meets, frozen dinners precooks meals
2. meet that comes from Industrial plant .... use range fed animals instead
3. Plastic containers/ plates plates for heating up food or serving food. Plastic containers can be used for storage only but in limited amounts, switch to stainless steel or china
4. Teflon coated cookware
I haven't had any of these item in my house for over 20 years, but salt and meets that use salt ( bacon ham, hocks brisket) are a staple. I don't think salt alone is the problem, I think all the problems is the additives that are in the food that we eat that are the cause of the problem.
Most dietary sodium comes from processed and purchased foods, not from the salt shaker. Eating more "real" food, and preparing it at home is the best solution. And the DASH diet (recommended by the Dietary Guidelines as a model plan) helps keep blood pressure at a healthy level, even with slightly higher salt intake.
Marla Heller, MS, RD, author of The DASH Diet Action Plan, the user-friendly guide to the DASH diet. http://dashdiet.org
I know that the younger generation needs to hear this but it is very old news. Been hearing this for 50 years at least.
Salt is good, salt is bad. Eggs are bad then they are good. Beer is bad then beer is good. Marijuana makes you insane but it helps people with cancer and then suddenly it's bad again.
What is the impact of worrying about what you eat all the time? Should you get rid of friends that have bad habits so you can stay pure? How is any of that kind of thinking healthy? Are you living your life for you or because of something you read in an article? Should you give up the parts of life that give you pleasure to live a bit longer?
Why?
Moderation is the key to life. Abstinence is just like admitting defeat. These articles are published because people read them. They are written to make us feel bad about ourselves. Furthermore, II don't like hearing people boast all the time about their healthy eating habits. I'm even more turned off by people that actually try to persuade me to stop eating the foods I like. Those are the same folks that buy a BMW and never take it over the speed limit; all show and no go. It is my life and I'm calling the shots.
What is the point of wasting space on this planet if you are just doing what everyone else is doing? Each of us should be unique and proud of what makes us different. Besides, do you really think anyone is impressed by eating habits?
Guess again. Fussy eaters are annoying to everyone with all their complaining about utter nonsense. Let's take an extreme example of eating for attention; the vegetarian. The fact is animals eat each other and they would eat humans too if we were easier prey. Hence, being a vegetarian is just plain stupid unless you are allergic to meat.
Getting back to the topic of salt, if one adopts the new recommendations as gospel, then prepare for a life of limited participation in social settings that include meals (most of them) and get used to drinking plain water. For reference, the average Burger King burger has 2000 mg of salt in it. At a more formal restaurant you could see more salt than that in the salad dressing. Is a long life worth it if you will spend it alone at home? Is that a hard question?
Pull out those recipes you have packed away and take a look. Even cooking every meal at home is no sure path to compliance with these new recommendations. Are you going to fret over this or find something better better way to invest your time and energy?
Why not take a simple "baby steps" approach like not adding salt to food anymore? Then you take a step in the right direction without giving up the foods you enjoy.
Give it a few years. I am sure these recommendations will be contradicted by the next wave of diet mass hysteria. Why not sit this one out??
Salt is healthy.
I use "123 Get Samples" to find free samples of major brands online. Please note they update their samples every day but I just pick what ever available at that time and use them.
Scientifically, there is NO REASON for most people to watch their salt intake. Only a select few have a problem processing salt. It is only these people who can get high blood pressure from salt. It is only these people who will benefit from salt restriction.
OMG thank you! Why is the medical establishment telling people lies! You can be sick and die if you don't have enough salt...especially if you need to sweat (hot weather or while exercising). Potassium is NOT a viable alternative since it can cause kidney damage. Good grief.
Unless you have pre-existing conditions with your kidneys, high blood pressure and whatnot, salt doesn't harm your body (unless you're eating so much salt that you're throwing up or something). All those guidelines out there are just plain silly – salt makes food taste great and your body is perfectly capable of handling large amounts of it. I avoid anything that says "low sodium" on it because it generally tastes like crap. I can give up carbs, dairy, meat, and just about anything else but not salt.
you need one more option in the poll that is govt has no rigth to tell em how much salt we american intake only our doctors can tell that not govt
I don't see any problem with it, I add salt to everything, and think there is a lot of misinformation out there making this into more of a problem than it is.
Salt is a problem FOR SOME, especially those with pre-existing problems aggravated by it (hypertension, sensitivity) or who have problems with water retention or the like that are side affects.
For the rest of us, everything I've read leads me to believe that salt intake can be virtually unlimited so long as you give your body enough water to process it.
I like salt, I eat tons of it (heck I have an entire shelf full of flavored and specialty salts at the gourmet extreme and I go to McD's and salt my fries at the other), and I have never had a problem. Back off.
I think the FDA should come out with a cookbook that incorporates meals for all their recommendations, this would be certainly a help for many, including myself who wants to try to do the right thing for their health.
So after a big take-out dinner when I'm sitting on my couch not moving and my heart is pounding out of my chest...... thats bad?
I don't really add salt to my food ever. But I know a lot of the foods I eat have sodium added. I avoid processed foods where I can but I'm not going to start baking my own bread. Plus on the occasions I dine out I probably get a daily serving or more of sodium in one meal. I just plan to do the best I can when I prepare my own food which is most of the time.
You really should. It's very easy, and the smell in your home while it's baking can't be beat. With a bread machine, all you really have to do is put the ingredients in and let it do all of the work for you.
I'm not sure they incorporated this study into their guidelines. Wish they had.
Read:
Doughnuts prevent cancer deaths, study shows
http://garygaddy.tripod.com/blog/index.blog?from=20080911
I live by the adage "If you don't put enough salt in it when you're cooking it, you'll add more at the table." My mother, bless her, always under-salted her meals so I used to upend the salt shaker over my dinner plate frequently.
i don't mind the blandness of low-salt food, and low salt food is very available to me... but still cannot cut my salt, it makes me feel bad. my daily 8-miles run feels miserable without enough salt in my body.
After having two strokes, I got the message. Reducing sodium was pretty easy for me. I simply stopped eating prepared foods and got back to cooking.
I lost 40 pounds real quick, down the a weight that my doctor wanted.
The only thing I mssi is Cheese.
The only think i really miss is Cheese.
I usually fail to get the message after the first stroke, too.
The thing is, I love cheese. Do you know how much salt is in most *cheese*?! T
Government intervention is needed and warranted to ensure people do not consume too much salt. Regulations and oversight by the government are needed in the food industry to limit the salt added to their products.
Before all that though, class-action lawsuits need to be filed against fast food chains for their gluttonous overuse of salt. Chains will not have a defense, so it's a great source of revenue by suing. Suing is the best method to institute change and is easy money to fill government coffers.
I would also recommend that the federal government institute a "salt tax" on all consumable goods which will help reduce people's desires for salty foods.
The American public needs, wants, craves, deserves to be coddled, protected, and taken care of by their government. They are unable to help themselves which is why government is the answer and needs to take over and oversee all aspects of life.
*Head explodes while reading*
LOL You know we are headed in that direction, right?
I know, I know...I am from NY originally, home to the "Hey, let's banXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX for the public good." school of thought...
Will women still eat saltpeter? Just askin'.
I though that was standard as an ingredient in all wedding cakes...:)
It would be good to know how regular salt compares to sea salt in light of this new study. I use the sea salt 99% of the time at home, so hoping that is a better choice. I just calculated my intake of sodium today and I'm currently around 2,300 milligrams!! Bad choice for breakfast, but a lunch salad with blue cheese, chicken, apples, and a balsamic dressing came in at 850, who knew? Thanks!
Theres no difference. Sea salt is just Kosher salt a.k.a. no iodine.
We try not to eat much salt, but so many things that are canned or already prepared have salt in them. We do low sodium things, but I don't know how much good it does.
I don't cook with salt or salt my food however you can't even get a can of soup and most other packaged foods without loads of sodium, which I can't stand. I think that the food industry needs to take action and find seasoning alternatives.
I have no intention to follow the salt guidelines. But then my blood pressure is a happy 110/70 and I cook most things from scratch since it tastes better.
I do agree that the food industry has a serious problem with over salting foods, and that people who eat from boxes and cans are probably getting way too much salt in their daily diet. I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that the less fat a product contains, the more sodium and sugar it has.
It's obvious from your post that you're already watching your salt intake, consciously or not.
At first I was hard to cut out salt. But after a week It was totally no problem. I threw out my salt shaker and never looked back. I also did the same with caffeine, alcohol and sugar.
Yes, it doesn't take long to adapt and start tasting the food instead of the salt. Once you have, some foods (especially restaurant and processed foods) start tasting only of salt and are pretty inedible.
the problem is not so much the desire to cut but the ablity. Turns out other than cheese, the largest amount of salt in our diet comes from breads. It is used as a conditioner to make breads rise more slowly and evenly. That would be easy to deal with if stocks and soups weren't so loaded with it. 750 mg for a cup of tomato soup!
If the government really wanted to improve the health of Americans, they would recommend a limit of one teaspoon of processed or refined sugar a day. The Standard American Diet is very SAD!!!
The government has tried this kind of thing. People freak out about the government "taking control" of their lives. But this country's health care bill is out of control – take some responsibility, eat a healthier diet, and we'll cut the deficit ... poor health that is actually optional costs taxpayers billions every year.
I use Morton's Lite salt- it has less than half the sodium and more potassium than regular salt. Also, a little goes a long way, it's stronger than salt as well.
In general, I am reducing salt intake after reading recent headlines. I prefer savory foods to sweet, but now I find I don't miss it that much. Some foods, however, are greatly enhanced, like eggs, and I believe in seasoning salad greens as well. All things in moderation.
These guide lines give me a headache. Every couple of years they come out with a new one that contradicts the old one. We all know that too much salt is bad for us, and unless you cook every meal at home and scour every food label meticulously, you are probably getting too much salt in you daily diet. I do cook alot at home, and use very little to no salt. I do read the sodium content on the labels and try to make the best choice. But salt is everywhere in everything! I couldn't believe how much was in supposedly all natural whole wheat bread. It's like a Sodium Fest out there.
Sodium chloride is an electrolyte that's needed by the body. It is vital for health, which is why salt used to be so valuable. If you don't have it, you die. Too much salt is the problem.
I'm not much of a salt fan in general. I never add extra salt, except for sometimes garlic salt while cooking potatoes. I've never really kept track of my everyday sodium intake, though. It would be interesting to see if I'm over or under the recommended guidelines.
Ever since I started watching cooking shows in the 80's, I learned that there is sodium in all the foods we eat. so I don't add it to the cooking. If I want a little salt after serving, there is a salt shaker on the table. This is not a health choice, but rather a taste choice. Store salt is not absorbed by the body and can only cause health issues. Sea salt is OK because the body can process the salt. Lemon Grass is great also, and has none of the harmful effects that table salt does, and it enhances the flavor better.
"store" salt is not absorbed by the body and "sea" salt is? You're supposed to eat the lemon grass, Vinny, not smoke it.
Here we go again. Seems like every year there is some new scare or "guidline" about some substance or another that we're either getting too much of or not enough. I'm so tired of the drama. As Oscar Wilde said, "All things in moderation, including moderation."
Agreed! In my 20's we were warned against eating pork. In my 30's it was don't eat eggs! Later it was fat-free is the way to go – 'til they "discovered" how much sugar was in fat-free foods! Now it's salt. It's a good thing I have a good head on my shoulders, a firm grasp of reality and see my doc regularly. Otherwise I'd be too ignorantly afraid to eat ANYTHING! ;)
Sorry... I'm a guy. I, if I could, would put salt on my salt.
I mostly cook fresh foods and my discretionary calories come from Cokes, so I tend to not encounter much of the "hidden" sodium. Which is really nice, because I LOVE salt and like to add it to the food on my plate.
For me, adding to my food makes a little taste like a LOT. Rice and pasta are about the only thing I cook with salt anymore.
Don't know if you realize there is sodium (salt) in thos cokes you are drinking. Anyway I haven't added salt to anything I eat or cook for a lon time and don't miss it at all. I do use a lot of pepper though.
Thanks for your concern but a can of Coke has 45 mg of sodium - I could have 25 a day and not hit the 1/2 teaspoon mark. (I don't have 25 but it's nice knowing I could!)
I'm with you on the pepper - that is seriously good stuff.
I have cranky kidneys so I already watch my salt intake, much easier to cook everything from scratch then spend a few weeks in the hospital.
I've never watched my intake level and likely never will. For healthy individuals, it's not a concern.
Healthy now, but just wait ! Be careful at your Super Bowl party. It might not be the game causing your heart to race.
0% chance of that happening. To start and end: I exercise 12+ hours a week. Odds are I'm in better health than just about everyone here claiming the negatives of salt. Salt, like everything else, is great in moderation. Also, when salt in brought up in health conversations, most people don't even know that it's the ratio of salt and potassium that matters (Same deal as omega 3/6 and L/HDL cholesterol). There's a headline in the health section of CNN that says that 1/3 of Americans have hypertension. Could that 1/3 have anything to do with, oh, OBESITY?!
As for those loons claiming that food is fine without salt, you're all delusional. Fat is flavor. Salt is flavor. Those statements have been tested, known and taught for centuries. And they're both fine for your health, in moderation. You do not know more about flavor than the best chefs in the world, so get over it.
Cole, you're missing the point. Too much salt can change you from a healthy individual into an unhealthy one.
Uh... Too much of EVERYTHING can and will kill you.
As far as health goes, salt isn't at the top of list of things that are bad for you. Drug abuse (alcohol, tobacco, Rx, illegal), lack of exercise, saturated fat (generally eating too many calories), insufficient sleep and others are MUCH bigger health factors. Salt is just another scapegoat like HFCS.
No, it can't. That is, as my pharmacology professor in medical school put it, "a medical urban legend."
Cole I have to agree-I put salt on my food and always have-I have the blood pressure of a child and I am in my thirties. I think people should worry a great deal more about all the processed junk they eat then the salt the sprinkle when cooking.
I agree. My mom was always very health conscious when we were growing up. We ate natural foods, fruits and vegetables, brown rice etc. My mom also cooked with very low salt, which we did not like because I personally like salt. We're from the Caribbean and a lot of traditional food is fatty and salty.
My mom developed high blood pressure in her thirties. At the time she was working at a low-paying job, driving two teenagers to school and had exams for her university degree. She was also under a lot of stress because of her student loans from previous studies and other debts etc. and her husband wasn't much help.
The #1 scientifically proven cause of high blood pressure is stress. My mom was a healthy weight at the time and healthy in every other way, except she was under a lot of pressure. Salt is a vital electrolyte, especially for people who live in areas where they need to sweat to keep cool.
Also the substitutes given for sodium chloride (salt) are often potassium-based, which can harm the kidneys.
I generally eat as much a salt as I want, and try not to stress. The only things I insist on are organic fruits and vegetables and I don't like to eat a lot of animal fat. But I do eat it as well as put salt in my food completely guilt-free. I do try to keep calm and avoid being stressed out, since I think that's more important to health.
It's not a problem with food cooked from scratch. The problem of staying below 1500 mg is related to salt added by too many food companies. For example, I eat four slices of whole wheat bread a day and it is difficult to find any bread that has less than 160mg per slice, and it cost more that the 200mg per slice bread. Whole wheat crackers, humus dips, everything seems to have too much added salt. Once you reduce salt you taste it better and all of the added salt is unecessary but I suspect like everything else there is pressure from the salat indutry to maintain it.
All good point. But the pressure isn't from the salt industry – it's used to excess in processed foods, fast food, and ready-made meals to hide the tasteless, low-grade nature of the food itself. Some of it's not much better than pet food. Ingredients of hot dogs, for example, include cow's udders and other "mechanically recovered meat" that is disguised by the high quantities of salt.
Milton`s Whole Grain Bread has 125 mg per slice and is widely available, at least in SoCal. I don`t eat more than 2 slices a day. Instead I eat pasta, cereal, cous-cous, or quinoa, without adding salt when cooking.
Trader Joe's has a sodium-free 100% whole wheat bread that's pretty okay...and I was thrilled when Triscuits, Wheat Thins and other Nabisco crackers were introduced last year in a "Hint of Salt" line...and my local grocery started carrying a no-salt-added cottage cheese, YAY!!! Also, if you love cheese, you best bet is Swiss – MUCH lower in sodium than other cheeses. But it sure is tough staying under even 2000 mg a day if you aren't swimming in money or the time to make everything from scratch...
sgt687: i would be careful with potassium also. i know they use it in the hospital, but that's a too much or not enough thing too.
Agree.
salt is a too much or not enough problem. they make us think we have too much, but they don't take into account how much (high fructose corn syrup) or corn is in our diet. if you are drinking a lot of water with exercise...you might not have enough (see natremia) i don't listen to this type of thing because they are wrong and i have to unlearn stupid stuff that i learned from them and it messes me up more than it helps.
I use potasium cloride, ("No Salt") not sodium cloride (salt) it's saltier tasting, but you don't get the bad stuff.
My doctor recommends it.
I've actually tried that myself. At first it's not bad and but after a while it started tasting like metal to me. oh well. For the most part it's a good substitute but I'd have to look into how it stands up health-wise.
Often when you taste food you are cooking and think it needs salt, what you are really tasting is a lack of dimension in the dish. Try adding an acid - lemon or lime juice or a dash of vinegar - before you reach for the salt.
I don't really care for salt, anyway, but how in the world can I avoid it? It's in EVERYTHING.....
With this new information, the Gov't now needs to crack down on the food industry (if they
won't voluntarily comply).....
Stay away from processed foods as much as you can. There are other things besides salt in processed food that are bad for you.
It's not in fresh foods (or at very low levels – impossible to eat too much salt if you're eating the recommended fresh healthy diet of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and some protein).
Really? You truly want the gov't to step in and further dictate what we can and cannot eat? Are you so concerned with people's ability to choose wisely that you want the nanny state to 'save us'?
If a person needs to, they are perfectly capable on their own of avoiding excess amounts of salt. For the rest of us who eat healthy, exercise, and have no problem with salt, leave my guilty pleasures alone!
I get in touch with my inner-Natureboy and join the deer in the field licking them salt blocks. Mmmm! Tasty salt blocks! Dodging the bullets and play-date advances from hill billies is pretty easy.
I know that I won't be going no salt, that's for sure, too bland for me! But I don't go crazy with the stuff as it is and think we are getting some of that salty goodness in foods anyway (bacon anyone?).
NO salt = bland
I don't know who cooks the food you eat but they need to learn hot to prepare food. I rarely add salt to my food and it comes out tasting great. I use more salt on popcorn than in my dinners and I hardly ever make popcorn. The world is full of flavors, so maybe you should try to actually cook. Instead of just reheating canned goods. That seems to be the problem with our society, no one buys real ingredients anymore.
The problem is buying actual ingredients is way to expensive for a lot of folks. Its sad that a bag of potato chips is cheaper than buying an actual potato.
Bland food comes from bland cooking, not from lack of salt. There's a huge range of seasonings and spices – or just use good, fresh, tasty food to start with (instead of mass-produced supermarket tasteless chicken, for example) – whether vegetables or me. Buy fresh, buy local, buy co-op or famrer's market, don't over-eat, and not only will you cut your food bill, you'll cut your medical costs – and your food will taste better
Steve – have you ever actually bought potatoes? Doesn't sound like it. If nothing else try comparing by weight – how much does that one ounce bag of chip compare in price to one pound of potatoes? And how many people can you feed on a) the one ounce of chips and b) the one pound of potatoes?
There are so many other spices you can use to perk things up, curry, garlic, ground mustard, cumin, basil - it doesn't have to be bland if you use salt in moderation.
Here's a tasty "chip". Cut corn tortillas into quarters. Mix olive oil with Mrs. Dash's non-salt seasonings, and coat the quarters with the mixture. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees until slightly brown at the edges. Usually about 9 minutes. They are a bit chewier that regular chips, but easy to make, and really good and satisfying...and most important...very low salt. I make up batches of them at a time and store them in plastic zip-locks.
Pretty much the only way to stay within the guidlines is to cook all of your food yourself. Most resturaunt and prepared foods (soup, frozen dinners ect) are loaded with way too much salt.
Not only that Dave but everything you purchase at a store/resterant is chock full of sodium (preservative). Campbell's soup claims to be heart healthy and has 410 mg sodium in serving. And that is the low sodium version. How is that heart healthy? I have seen studies that claim that as adults we really only need 500 mg sodium unless we are sweating alot.Then we need the 2500mg that is now recommended. Oh and you must pay a premium price for anything called low sodium. So how does that work. Leave out an ingrediant we do not need but charge us more for it.
I'm 68 and have high blood pressure challenges. I am also hypersensitive to blood pressure medications. Months ago, after reading the latest research, I adopted a daily 1,000 mg, or lower, salt regime. Trust me, it wasn't easy. But I do read every label of every product I buy and we do lots of home cooking now. The results: I lowered my blood pressure by 35%...both systolic and diastolic, and I reduced my intake of toxic drugs by 50%...to the point where the side-effects went away. You will also find a correlation between reduced salt eating and reduced cholesterol. As to those who expect the government to do everything for them, or expect their doctor to prescribe drugs so they can keep on living irresponsibly, or who trust corporate entities not to lie to you...grow up and take charge of your own lives. Honestly...this stuff isn't rocket science. Just like smoking...the information is there if you want to pull your heads out of the sand and actually do something worthwhile for yourself.
Wow, David, good for you – under 1000 mg a day. That's quite a feat. I have trouble even staying under 1600 or so. (I bet it's been ages since you had an olive, lol)