Too Much salt in American’s Diets

In a survey published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on June 25 2010 in its Morbidity and Mortality weekly report (MMWR), it has come across that Americans consume too much common salt.

The CDC report based on the survey data collected from 2005 to 2006 says only 5.5 percent of adults eat less than 1,500 mg per day and only 18.8 percent of all other adult consumed less than 2,300 mg per day.

This figures pales in comparison with the dietary recommendations of less than 1500 mg per day for an adult.

Higher Consumption of common salt ( sodium chloride ) among other things can lead to increased risk of Gastric Cancer. Higher Salt consumption can also lead to Osteoporosis as it forces kidneys to draw more calcium into the urine and this leads to weak bones.

Higher intake of salt can also lead to heart problems, though there is no conclusive evidence pointing this out, but doctors have always expressed concerns on this.

The biggest culprit is the food habit of the americans as the biggest consumers of packaged food. The processed food contains the highest amount of salt and people regularly consuming processed foods intake much higher quantities of salt then required by the body.

The Manufacturers need to cut down on the salt in the processed food to save this nation from a salty
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