Researchers reported in the New England Journal of Medicine this past week that reducing salt intake by as little as 1/2 teaspoon a day could prevent as many as 66,000 strokes, 99,000 heart attacks and 92,000 US deaths in the United States. It would also save approximately $24 billion dollars a year in health care costs. The study was conducted by leading researchers at the University of California San Francisco, Stanford University Medical Center and Columbia University Medical Center.

Eating too much salt plays a major role in your health and Americans clearly over consume it. Most Americans consume well above the recommended daily intake. The current recommended daily allowance is 3.8 grams of salt for a person who is at risk for heart related illness and 5.8 grams of salt for those not at risk. The average male typically consumes 10.4 grams of salt per day while the average female consumes 7.3 grams per day. This high salt intake can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease.

Most of our salt intake comes in the form of processed foods. Processed foods are loaded with salt and most people consume high amounts of these foods on a daily basis. Federal, state and municipal Health Authorities have been considering taking action against food companies. They would like to see them reduce the salt content in the manufacturing of their processed foods. They would like to see the salt content in processed and restaurant foods reduced by 25% over the next five years.

The food and drug administration is also considering actions to re-label salt content on food packages. They would like to change salt from being considered a food additive. Food additives are typically considered safe and do not require any additional labeling. If salt was bumped up to a higher regulated category, food labels would have to contain information to alert consumers. This would make it easier for consumers to see how much salt they were getting in their meal.

For years dieticians, doctors and other health practitioners have warned consumers of the dangers of high salt intake. These warnings have seemed to go unnoticed. Even with the warnings, salt consumption in the US has continued to rise. With the convenience of eating out and processed foods, most people take in way to much salt, without even realizing it. With action to reduce salt in these types of food, people would be able to lower their salt content without even noticing the salt was missing.