When people talk about limiting their salt intake, they really mean they are trying to limit their sodium intake. Limiting sodium is desirable because a diet high in sodium causes hypertension, or high blood pressure. While sources of sodium are all around, eating frozen and canned foods sparingly is a great way to begin lowering sodium intake. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides an online sodium counter that makes learning the sodium content of foods easier.
Risks
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hypertension affected 33 percent of non-institutionalized adults aged 20 and over in 2007 and 2008. Hypertension is associated with increased risk of both cardiovascular disease and kidney disease. The 2009 Annual Report of the U.S. Renal Data System shows that hypertension was the leading cause of kidney failure in 2007.
Goals
The American Medical Association recommends restricting sodium intake to 1,600 mg per day. The American Heart Association recommends going even lower, to 1,500 mg per day. These goals are slightly less than half the average intake of sodium in America, which is estimated to be approximately 3,500 mg per day.
Research
Writing in the January, 2001 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Frank M. Sacks, M.D., reported that limiting sodium intake reduced blood pressure in both male and female research subjects. Hypertensive subjects were more sensitive to sodium reduction than those who had normal blood pressures. While this study lasted just a month, the researchers believe that the reduction in blood pressure persists as long as the patients eats a low-sodium diet.
DASH Diet
Sacks also found that eating a DASH diet boosts the drop in blood pressure even more than simply lowering sodium intake. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The DASH diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, low fat dairy products and fish. Sugary drinks and red meat are kept to a minimum.
References
- MedlinePlus: Hypertension
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: FastStats
- "New England Journal of Medicine;" Effects on Blood Pressure of Reduced Dietary Sodium and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet; Frank M. Sacks, M.D. et al.; Jan. 2001
- National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Kidney and Urologic Diseases Statistics for the United States
- USDA: Nutrient Data Laboratory
