From popcorn to pizza, Americans love their salt!
A sprinkle here or there is OK, but too much salt can wreak havoc on your health.
Now, the FDA has issued new guidelines to encourage food manufacturers, restaurants, and food service companies to scale back on their use of sodium.
Too much salt can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and kidney failure.
“We’re realizing that Americans are not cutting back on sodium as much as they should be in their diet,” said Tara Collingwood, a registered dietitian nutritionist.
The average American consumes 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day. New FDA guidelines aim to lower that to 2,300 milligrams in the next 10 years. They say cutting sodium intake by 40% over the next decade could save 500,000 lives!
When it comes to sodium, some culprits aren’t so obvious. One slice of bread contains 150 milligrams of sodium. Some cereals have as much as 300 milligrams per serving. A cup of cottage cheese packs a whopping 746 milligrams. Just three ounces of cooked shrimp has 805 milligrams! And a cup of canned soup can contain up to 1,000 milligrams of sodium!
And confused whether pink Himalayan salt is better than table salt?
“Whether it’s pink Himalayan salt, whether it is sea salt, whether it is just regular course table salt or whatever, it’s all salt. And all of those are going to have a good deal of sodium within the salt,” Collingwood said.
The CDC reports more than 70% of the sodium that Americans consume each day comes from processed foods and restaurant foods. Just remember… a drastic reduction in salt may make food seem tasteless. Fortunately, taste buds adapt to a level of salt, so after two to three weeks, food will start having flavor again.