CDC Says 90% of Americans Eat Too Much Salt. Do You? - Page 2
Now, take the CDC's numbers with a grain of salt, here, no pun intended. Allegedly the average American eats about 3300 milligrams of sodium per day. The recommended amount is 2300 milligrams daily, according to U.S. Dietary Guidelines. And about 6 out of 10 adults should further limit sodium to 1,500 mg a day. The CDC did not clarify what average necessarily is, so if you are tiny, then you would require less. If you are over 6'5" then the variability in amount would need to adjust. In any case, it probably wouldn't hurt to have less salt, especially if you continually add salt to your foods after their preparation.
Salt is implicated in a number of disease entities. Too much sodium increases a person's risk for high blood pressure. High blood pressure often leads to heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, kidney disease and other vascular diseases. Salt can also cause bloat and weight gain.
It is easier to reduce salt intake if you are preparing foods at home. And of course, reading the labels on packaged and processed foods will help restrain you from buying overly salted items. Restaurants will accommodate you if you tell them to lower the salt on the dishes you order. If it is a casserole or complicated dish that most likely has been heavily seasoned, you can bet there is a goodly portion of salt. Order another entree, for example fish, meat, poultry and vegetables which are simpler and can be controlled by you if you tell the servers how you would like the dish seasoned. (You tell them how you like your meat...rare or medium. You can tell them to go lightly on the salt.) Or order the casserole and enjoy it and moderate your salt intake the following days.
The CDC calculates that reducing the sodium Americans eat by 1,200 mg per day on average could save up to $20 billion a year in medical costs. That is the impact that salt can have on our combined health if we are not watchful.
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