CDC REPORTS ON U.S. SODIUM INTAKE

FROM:  U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Sodium Intake Among U.S. Adults — 26 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, 2013

With more than 9 out of 10 U.S. adults eating too much sodium, the findings suggest a significant proportion of adults are ready for sodium reduction. The study also reveals opportunities for healthcare professionals to advise patients on limiting salt in the diet. Based on a 2013 phone survey of more than 180,000 adults across 26 states, DC and Puerto Rico, CDC research reveals that just over half of U.S. adults reported taking action to watch or reduce sodium intake – while one in five say they have received professional medical advice to reduce sodium intake. Compared to people without hypertension, a higher percentage of individuals with self-reported hypertension claim to have taken steps to watch or reduce sodium and receive advice from a professional healthcare provider.

HHS SAYS STUDY FINDS LOWER SALT CONSUMPTION WOULD SAVE LIVES

Photo Credit:   Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Researchers looking at three computer models have figured out what would happen if we all started to use a little less sodium – commonly, salt – in our food. At the University of California, San Francisco, Pamela Coxson had the computer models assume we could work our way, a bit at a time, to the dietary equivalent of a half teaspoon less salt a day over 10 years:

"All three models predicted mortality reductions on the order of hundreds of thousands of avoided deaths over the 10 years."

That’s up to a half million lives.

Most of the sodium we get is in prepared foods and meals out, so it pays to look hard at the nutrition labeling.

The study in the journal Hypertension was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.