A pinch of salt can perk up your morning omelet—but
that innocent shaker is responsible for 2.3 million deaths around the
world and 85,000 deaths per year in the United States, says a study released Thursday from Harvard's School of Public Health.
More on Yahoo! Shine: Is Salt Beauty's Next Big Ingredient?
One in ten people die from heart attack, stroke, or other type of cardiovascular disease as
a result of eating too much sodium, according to lead study author
Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department
of Epidemiology at Harvard University.
More on Yahoo! Toddler Meals Have Too Much Salt
Despite
the fact that the World Health Organization recommends limiting sodium
to less than 2,000 milligrams a day and the American Heart Association
recommends 1,500 mg per day, the global national average for the U.S. is
4,000 mg of sodium," Mozaffarian told Shine. For perspective: One
teaspoon of salt has 2,325 mg of sodium.
Researchers analyzed
247 national surveys of sodium intake in 66 countries between 1990 and
2010, then looked at studies that measured how high amounts of sodium
affect blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease, including
heart disease and stroke. They also obtained the number of deaths from
cardiovascular disease from the Global Burden of Disease study.
"Out of all the countries, the United States ranked 19th out of 30 of
the largest countries for the most salt consumption relating to
cardiovascular death," says Mozaffarian. "When people think of limiting
salt, foods like potatoes chips and French fries come to mind but those
mainly contain salt on the surface," he says. "Salt isn't just used for
taste; it's also used as a preservative in packaged foods like bread and
canned foods such as soup which Americans eat a lot of."
Salt is a hard habit to shake, for a few reasons:
For starters, along with sweet, sour, bitter, and savory, salt is one
of the five basic tastes. Just like some people have a sweet tooth,
others crave salt often. Second, a salty tooth may be
biologically-determined. Some studies suggest that babies whose mothers
suffer from morning sickness have above-average salt appetites because
vomiting decreases sodium levels in her body and in the fetus. And other
research suggests that stress or anxiety can make us reach for the salt
and eventually, just like anything else, adding salt to our meals
becomes habitual.
Unsurprisingly, the Salt Institute's vice president of science and research Morton Satin says:
"This misleading study did not measure any actual cardiovascular deaths
related to salt intake, since, by the authors' own admission, no
country anywhere in the world consumes the low levels of salt they
recommend...The Salt Institute does not consider this misleading
modeling exercise helpful in furthering our knowledge of the role of
salt on our health. On the contrary, it is disingenuous and
disrespectful of consumers."
If you do want to cut down on your sodium intake, try these tips:
Avoid balsamic vinegar: On
salad choose red-wine vinegar instead of its more popular counterpart
balsamic, Carly Feigan, a New York City based Clinical Nutritionist told
Shine. "Red wine vinegar already contains salt so it will quell your
cravings," she says. "Balsamic has a high sugar content and triggers
sugar cravings which may have you reaching for more high-sodium packaged
foods."
Spice up your meals: The capsaicin in
hot sauce will give your eggs or pizza a fiery kick causing skin
tingles, flushed skin, and the release of feel-good hormones (called
endorphins) and could possibly extinguish the need for extra salt.
Feigan's pick: Frank's hot sauces which have the lowest sodium per
teaspoon.
Eat a clean diet: Whole foods such as
fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and beans contain natural sodium which
should satisfy your bodies' natural cravings so you won't reach for the
shaker as often.
Post a Comment