Americans Eat Too Much Salt

According to a new report done by the health officials and released on Thursday, Americans eat too much salt, endangering their health.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that more than 90% of the kids and more than 89% of the adults consume more sodium than they should. There are some official guidelines that recommend no more than a teaspoon of salt per day, for an adult. That means that any quantity of salt that surpasses 2,300 milligrams a day, is too much and it can prove to be dangerous for your health.

The lead author of the research, epidemiologist Sandra Jackson, said that most Americans consume too much salt, regardless of their age or gender. The issue is that too much salt can increase the high blood pressure. The high blood pressure can then lead to heart disease or stroke. According to Jackson, the reduction of salt will lead to lower risk of heart disease.

The CDC report revealed that approximately 70 million adult Americans have high blood pressure. Each year, more than 800,000 Americans are killed by heart disease or strokes. The health care spends almost$320 billion every year for these patients.

On Thursday, the new dietary guidelines were released in the United States and the Americans were suggested to lower the quantities of back sugar, salt and saturated fats. They were also advised to include more whole grains, vegetables and fruits in their diets.

Even though the Americans are suggested to cut out the salt, the consumption of salt has stayed the same in the last 10 years. Most of the salt is hidden in processed and restaurant food. This could be a warning for the restaurants and the manufacturers to lower the amount of salt they put in the food. Some companies have already started doing it and hopefully other food producers will follow by example. The report done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was published in this month’s issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Americans eat too much salt, so here are some tips that will help you reduce the amount of salt in your diet. First of all, it is very important to check the labels on the processed food you buy. Choose the products after you have compared at least three, to see the sodium levels. If you like to cook with a lot of salt, try putting less. Even though you won’t like the food as much in the beginning, you will quickly get used to the new taste. You should also avoid dressings and sauces, as they contain a lot of sodium.

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