This week is “World Salt Awareness Week”
“World Salt Awareness Week” is held from Monday March 11th to Sunday 17th March. This year’s theme is Less Salt Please, showing how you can reduce the salt in your diet without compromising taste and flavour. For more information visit World Action on Salt website.
When it comes to awareness about salt (sodium) consumption, most of us know that consuming too much salt can hurt our health. “Too much sodium raises blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke,” says CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden
But for many people, the awareness stops there; they don’t realize where most of the salt they take in is coming from. Is it the salt shaker on the table or by the stove? Is it the salt that naturally occurs in foods? These are indeed the source of some of the salt Americans consume, but the greatest amount—about 65 percent–comes from packaged foods and restaurant items.
According to the CDC, 10 types of foods are responsible for more than 40 percent of people’s sodium intake: luncheon meats such as deli ham or turkey; pizza; poultry; soups; cheeseburgers and other sandwiches; pasta dishes; meat dishes such as meat loaf; and snack foods such as potato chips, pretzels and popcorn; and breads and rolls, which in themselves are not too high in sodium until you consider the amount that we typically eat of these products.
You can lower your sodium intake by eating fresh, unprocessed foods, and reading product labels to select those lower in sodium. Talk to your healthcare provider about your sodium consumption. To learn more, visit cdc.gov/salt