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(CBS) Nine out of 10 Americans consume more sodium than they need, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No one should eat more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, equal to about a teaspoon of salt, health officials say - but the average American actually consumes closer to 3,300 milligrams a day.
Too much sodium raises risk for high blood pressure, leading to heart disease and stroke. More than 800,000 people die each year from these and other vascular diseases, says the CDC.
Where does all the sodium come from? According to the report, more than 40 percent of all Americans' sodium intake comes from only 10 types of foods. Most are processed foods, which contain sodium that can't be removed. Keep clicking to see the countdown of foods that account for most of the nation's sodium consumption, with tips from registered dietitian Amy Jamieson-Petonic, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and director of coaching at the Cleveland Clinic.
Coming in at No. 10, salty snacks...
http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/salt-ok-if-blood-pressure-is-ok/
The facts are that sodium is in everything that YOU do not control when cooking or making food. That includes SODA's not potato chips, etc. You count all the sodium milligrams starting with breakfast, and remember add sodium for the creamer, and your sodium lunch, your starbucks drink, HUGE amounts of sodium in that, your dinner which you eat outside or buy premade at the supermarket, etc.
Then count at the end of the day all those sodium milligrams numbers, every one, even a small chip and that huge "healthy" sandwich, all of it, and you'll have an average of about 4 to 6 thousand milligrams DAILY. Daily.
And some people go 10,000 milligrams a day of sodium, Im not exaggerating.
I say, you're all responsible for yourselves, I can't change you, I can't expect this comment to change you, do what you want.
When I go out, I need to learn to ask for no salt.
There are so many foods that are bad for you, and I think overall, it means that we have to use them all in moderation ourselves, but it would be great if companies would do a better job of assiting us, too.
They may find that their sales would go up if they reduce some of the sodium and other chemicals.
As for suggesting low-sodium substitutes, they're stinkin' expensive because better quality, higher flavor ingredients are generally used in those. It's quite a racket the food companies have going on.
""""There are far worse evils of industrial foods than sodium. Trans fats, artificial preservatives, flavors, and colors, high fructose corn syrup, refined vegetable oils, just to name a few. There is a lot of fuss over sodium even though the link between sodium and health problems isn't very strong.""""
I'm inclined to agree with that. Eating mainly home-made dishes it's hard to even eat anything that's pre-prepared because of all the off flavors in things and those flavors don't come from sodium but from whatever types of chemicals are added.