Salt is harvested every everyday in Senegal. Are you getting enough salt in your diet?  As someone who is sensitive to it,  I make a special effort to eat as little as possible. However, the majority of Americans eat too much salt. The FDA says salt is GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). Hmmm… Yet, I blog about the effect salt has on the body in terms of heart disease, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure (hypertension). Salt is a very interesting condiment and can have a profound effect on the health of the elderly and African Americans.

 Table salt  adds  zest to food, making it more palatable.  It’s found in the majority of processed foods, in restaurant foods and also used  to preserve foods. In addition, it’s  used as a spa item for the body–bath salts, foot soaks, body scrubs.

Sodium or Salt?

Take a closer look at “salt”. When you read  food labels ,it lists the “sodium” content of the food. Dietary salt is comprised of sodium and chloride. Salt is 40% sodium (NA) and 60% chloride (CL) One teaspoon of table salt provides approximately 2300 mg of sodium.  Looking closer, six grams (gms) of salt makes a level teaspoonful and just under 2.4 grams is sodium. The recommended amount (RDA) of salt is 2300 mg or 2.3 gms of sodium. Reducing  intake by one or two gms will result in a progressive reduction in blood pressure and strokes. A reduction in dietary salt can be harmful, of course, on persons with goiter problems or people who live in very hot climates. My blood pressure goes up just thinking about the amount of hidden salt in processed foods and the amount that is usually added to foods prepared at home by some cooks!

A decrease in salt intake and its use in processed foods is the likely way to go for a healthier lifestyle and heart for many Americans.

What are you doing to decrease your salt intake? Do you think processed foods and resturant foods should contain less salt? What will be the effect on the economy?