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Should
salt go on trial?
March 10, 05
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
Simple salt is in the news.
A consumer group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest,
says the government isn’t doing enough to protect consumers
from the health risks of diets too high in sodium, the main
ingredient in table salt. High sodium intakes are associated
with higher blood pressures and greater risk of cardiovascular
disease and stroke.
The group has also sued the Food and Drug Administration in
an effort to change salt’s regulatory status and require
limits on the sodium content of the saltiest foods in our
diets.
Do they have a case?
In our fast-paced lives, we rely heavily on the very foods
that contribute the majority of the sodium in our diets –
processed foods and foods eaten away from home. In fact, it’s
not the saltshaker that’s the problem as much as it
is the salt in bread, cheese, ham, salad dressing, cakes and
cookies that we eat daily.
Why do so many foods contain so much salt?
Salt satisfies a variety of needs for food manufacturers:
* We like it. The more we eat, the more we like. Complicating
matters: It’s easy to become accustomed to the taste
of more salt but much harder to get used to eating less.
* It preserves foods well. Cut back the salt in canned minestrone
soup, and the vegetables begin turning to colorless mush sooner.
* It increases the shelf life of foods. That’s an important
factor considering the time it takes to ship foods cross-country.
The result: We’re eating more salt than ever.
Average sodium intakes have risen to about 4,000 milligrams
per day, according to a report issued last month by the Center
for Science in the Public Interest. The biggest contributors:
* Processed foods. Frozen entrees, pasta sauce, canned soup,
processed cheese, hot dogs, ham and frozen pizza, for example.
* Restaurant meals. Entrees, sandwiches, salads with dressing,
side dishes and desserts.
So what can be done to help us cut back?
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the U.S.
government’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee
considered lowering national sodium recommendations to not
more than 1,500 milligrams per day, much lower than the 2,300
milligrams the committee finally settled on.
The food industry lobbied heavily against the lower level,
arguing that salt is such an integral part of the food production
system that if people tried to stick to lower sodium intakes,
they’d risk not finding enough to eat.
The committee adopted industry’s position. Lawrence
Appel, a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University
and member of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, told
the Journal: “Because of the extraordinarily low number
of low-salt processed foods in the food supply, the committee
worried that no one would be able to follow the lower guideline.”
In the end, then, the new salt guideline doesn’t tell
you what’s best for your health. It tells you what the
committee thinks is realistic.
Until consumers and government policies pressure the food
industry to cut back on sodium, we’re on our own to
reduce how much sodium we eat. The best defense: Prepare more
meals at home, using as many fresh ingredients as possible,
and make foods in their natural state as large a part of your
diet as you can.
It’s advice that’s consistent with all other health
messages, and it’s within your means to control.
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