Guidelines Say We Need To Use Less Salt

Every five years the new dietary guidelines are issued by the Agriculture and Health and Human Services department and this years guidelines seemed to have a salty theme to them. Salt (sodium) seems to be a big contributing factor for high blood pressure, but if you have diabetes or chronic kidney disease, the experts would like you to cut down on the salt.

Anyone 51 or older who has the aforementioned diseases, should allow only 1/2 a teaspoon daily for salt. All other Americans get a whopping 1 whole teaspoon. That is probably a little more than what I put on my popcorn last night.

But, it isn't as simple as just eliminating table salt. Salt is everywhere in foods, especially processed foods. A teaspoon of salt is about 2300 milligrams (mg). A serving of Ragu pasta sauce has 450 mg in it. My daughters Kraft Mac and Cheese has about 540 mg. My lean pockets have about the same. A Michelina's Chicken & Rice has only 400 calories, but 1140 mg of sodium.

And those are just the items that are in foods. That isn't counting if you decide to salt on your own. In my opinion, salt can be an addicting substance that you build up a tolerance for. So, if you are used to salt, you need more just to get that salty taste.

So what can be done to cut back on your sodium intake?

Well, it is the same thing I seem to say with every other health issue:

• Try to avoid the processed foods.
• Eat fresh foods as much as possible and avoid salting them.
• If you eat out, ask to not add salt to the dish.
• Just cut back on the salt you add on your foods.
• Start reading the labels and pay attention to how much sodium is in each item you are buying.

Or just do what a lot of people in our country seem to do. Ignore it. Let yourself get high blood pressure. Then ask your doctor for medications. Easy peezie. Did you love the sarcasm there??

Seriously, though, I don't know how realistic it is to get just a teaspoon of salt daily. Your average American is getting 4 or 5 times that amount daily. You would have to be pretty disciplined, but I do know that if you can eat more fresh foods and not add salt, you will do a lot better than where you are today.