Americans eat too much salt: What you need to know

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on June 25 2010 published a survey in its Morbidity and Mortality weekly report (MMWR) saying that Americans eat too much salt (sodium chloride).

The CDC report based on the survey data collected from 2005 to 2006 says only 5.5 percent of adults eat less than 1,500 mg per day and only 18.8 percent of all other adult consumed less than 2,300 mg per day.

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommends adults daily intake of 2,300 mg or less of sodium and the new 2010 dietary guidelines recommends daily intake of 1,500 mg of sodium for adults.

Overall, the report says only 9.6 percent of adults met their recommended limit.

In 2004, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine recommended daily intake of 1,500 mg of sodium or 3,800 mg of salt  for adults aged 19 to 50 and 1,300 mg of sodium or 3,300 mg of salt for those aged 51 to 70 and 1,200 mg of sodium or 3,000 mg of salt for those aged 71 or older.

Early studies suggested that many Americans eat more than 7,000 mg of salt a day.

High intake of salt can result in a number of health conditions.

Epidemiological studies showed that salted, smoked and pickled foods, which are found high in salt, were associated with increased risk of gastric cancer.

Recent laboratory studies have revealed that high salt intake can be particularly risky for those who are chronically infected with helicobacter pylori like 50 percent of Asian people because this bacteria in the stomach can produce compounds that damage the cells lining the stomach at a high salt environment.

High salt intake can also increase risk of osteoporosis and fracture because high salt can force the kidneys to draw calcium into the urine leading to loss of the bone mineral.

Kidney stone is another concern for those who eat too much salt.  Abnormally elevated urinary calcium or hypercalciuria is associated with increased risk of calcium stones.

Hypertension or high blood pressure is the health condition commonly known to be associated with high intake of salt.

One another serious condition associated with high intake of salt is cardiovascular disease.  Studies have linked reduced salt intake with reduced risk of heart disease and events.

Regardless, salt or sodium chloride plays an important role in human physiology.  Sodium help maintain the membrane potential and help transport and absorb nutrients like amino acids, glucose, and water, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.

One another important function of sodium is to maintain blood volume and blood pressure.

It is probably inevitable for many people to use higher-than-necessary amounts of salt on a daily basis because salt is arguably the most important ingredient in a food or processed food that renders a savory taste.  Without salt, a food becomes tasteless.

Critics say food processors or manufacturers need to cut back on use of salt.  Many processed foods contain just too much salt.

A health observer suggested that high salt in processed foods is one of the most important factors for the current obesity epidemic because he said high salt leads to high consumption of foods.

The food industry is working on salt reduction.  The major food companies like Campbell Soup and Kraft all have been working on low salt foods.

One thing they can do to reduce use of salt is increase use of other flavorings like spices and herbs to enhance the flavor and taste.

By David Liu