American Heart Association Sodium Recommendations

When the USDA released new dietary guidelines in 2010, it created a bit of a stir when the American Heart Association, or AHA, announced that it disagreed with the sodium recommendations. In 2005, the USDA report stated Americans should limit sodium in their diet to 2,300 mg per day, for healthy individuals, and 1,500 mg per day for those who suffer from high blood pressure or heart disease. The new USDA recommendations, which came out in 2010, did not amend the sodium or saturated fat recommendations, prompting the AHA to make a recommendation for sodium on its own.

Daily Diet

Sodium is an essential nutrient that cannot be manufactured by your body; therefore, you must obtain it through diet. Necessary to regulate and balance your blood fluids and volume, including blood pressure, sodium is also needed by nerves and muscles in order to function properly. It's present naturally in many foods as sodium chloride--the same type found in your salt shaker. Foods containing sodium include celery, beets, milk, shellfish and meat. Sodium is added to most processed foods, often in huge amounts, to enhance flavor. What many people don't know--or don't want to admit--is that most of us get enough sodium from the fresh foods we eat and don't require additional sources.

American Heart Association Sodium Recommendation

The AHA, while otherwise supporting the 2010 USDA dietary guidelines, published its own recommendations for sodium and saturated fat in early 2011. In essence, it recommends that everyone--adults as well as children--limit their daily sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg daily, not just those who are over 51 years of age or suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure.

Previous Guidleines Fail To Reduce Sodium Intake

The AHA basically disagrees with the USDA sodium recommendations for not taking into consideration that most Americans are at risk of developing high blood pressure sometime in adulthood. According to the medical journal "Clinical Advisor," the effort to get American's blood pressure down to 120/80 mm Hg by lowering salt intake has been largely unsuccessful to date. While many people are eating lower sodium foods, the cumulative effect of eating foods with only moderate amounts of sodium still adds up to ingestion of too much sodium in a day. Ingesting too much sodium increases your risk of developing high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.

Reducing Sodium

To reduce sodium intake, the first thing you need to do is remove the salt shaker from the table. Most foods contain adequate amounts of sodium--or way more if they're processed. You must read package labels to determine the amount of sodium per serving. Foods, such as cold cut meats, pizza, frozen dinners, canned soup and bread, can contain high amounts of sodium. MayoClinic.com states you also have to be careful not to be fooled by foods that claim to be "reduced sodium," as they can still contain high levels. You can also substitute spices and herbs for seasoning in many recipes.