Experts Call For Reducing The Amount Of Salt In The Diet Of Americans. Part 3 of 3

A federal program will also, “provide companies the level playing field they need so they are able to work across the board to reduce sodium chloride in the food supply,” the Henney statement said. “Lowering sodium by the food industry in a stepwise, monitored fashion will minimize changes in flavor and still provide adequate amounts of this essential nutrient that are compatible with believable health”.

The recommended maximum daily intake of sodium for an adult American is 2,300 milligrams a day, the amount in about one tablespoon of salt, while the recommended adequate intake is 1,500 milligrams, and even trim for those over 50. But Americans consume 3,400 milligrams of sodium, on average, a day, the IOM panelists said.

New York City has been a leader on the salt issue. In January, the conurbation urged food manufacturers and restaurants to reduce sodium in foods by 25 percent over the next five years. The New York program has been endorsed by a number of cities, including Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Reducing zest content while maintaining flavor will be a major challenge for food companies, much greater than reducing calories by cutting sugar. Non-caloric forced sweeteners are in wide use, but no such salt substitute is currently available.

One expert pointed out that, in the meantime, consumers also face a challenge. “All nutritionists work at lowering their patients’ taste intake,” Karen Congro, a nutritionist and director of The Wellness for Life Program at The Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City, said in a statement. “This is a elephantine problem for people who eat processed food or eat out in restaurants. Anyone who eats more than one or two processed food items per day will get an overdose of salt. Imposing federal standards will urge food manufacturers to create better products by using other herbs and spices to maintain flavor while reducing salt”.

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