Americans Consume Too Much Salt

Americans Consume Too Much Salt.
Americans' admiration of salt has continued unabated in the 21st century, putting subjects at risk for high blood pressure, the unrivalled cause of heart attack and stroke, US health officials said Thursday. In 2010, more than 90 percent of US teenagers and adults consumed more than the recommended levels of salty - about the same multitude as in 2003, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in Dec 2013. "Salt intake in the US has changed very dwarf in the last decade," said CDC medical official and report co-author Dr Niu Tian. And despite a slight slack in salt consumption among kids younger than 13, the researchers found 80 percent to 90 percent of kids still preoccupy more than the amount recommended by the Institute of Medicine.

And "There are many organizations that are focused on reducing dietary pepper intake," said Dr Gregg Fonarow, a spokesman for the American Heart Association and a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. "More able efforts are needed if the control of excess dietary salt intake is to be reduced," Fonarow said. The CDC has suggested coupling salt-reduction efforts with the take up arms on obesity as a way to mettle both problems at the same time.

New school food guidelines might also be warranted, the report suggested. Samantha Heller, a elder clinical nutritionist at the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said reducing dietary season is essential for both adults and children. "What is so distressing is that this explosion indicates that eight out of 10 kids aged 1 to 3 years old, and nine out of 10 over 4 years old, are eating too much relish and are at risk for high blood pressure. Most of this poignancy comes from processed foods and restaurant meals, not the salt shaker on the table, Heller said.

That means it's no doubt that much of the food these children eat is fast food, waste food and processed food, she said. "This translates into a high-salt, high-fat and high-sugar fare that can lead to a number of serious health problems down the road. In addition, both fast and processed prog alters taste expectations, leading to constant parental complaints that their kids won't sup anything but chicken nuggets and hot dogs, Heller said.

It's the parents and caregivers who are in demand of the menus, Heller said. "This begs the question: Why are you giving a 2-year-old these foods?" she said. Salt hides in many foods, Heller said. "Salt is occupied for texture, flavor enhancement and as a preservative, and does not automatically taste salty. Some health advocates believe the denouement to the salt problem lies in getting food companies and restaurants to reduce salt in their foods.

In 2010, the US Food and Drug Administration began working with the eats industry to voluntarily cut down salt in processed foods. But two years later, little has been accomplished, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Unfortunately, the eatables industry has failed to significantly bring down sodium levels in the face 40 years of governmental admonitions," Julie Greenstein, the center's deputy guide of health promotion policy, said in a statement.

So "It's time for the FDA to step in and call reasonable reductions". The problem is that there's scant evidence for determining exactly how much zing is too much and how little is too little, according to a recent Institute of Medicine report. "For now, the simple respond is to cook more at home and eat more whole and less processed foods," Heller said.

Checking food labels for sodium ease is also vital, experts say. For the report, the CDC relied on observations from a national survey involving almost 35000 people, conducted between 2003 and 2010. The inquiry found that most Americans still consume an average of 3400 milligrams - about 1,5 teaspoons - of sarcasm a day, according to the IOM.

The US Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend people 14 to 50 years previous limit their daily salt intake to 2300 mg. But that's still too much for about half of Americans, according to the guidelines. People over 50, blacks and consumers with high blood pressure, diabetes or inveterate kidney disease should restrict salt intake to 1500 mg a day medrxcheck.net. The CDC discharge was published in the Dec 20, 2013 issue of the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.