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The average American consumes about 3400 mg/d of sodium, which is more than double the 1500 mg recommended by the American Heart Association.1 Excess sodium added to foods during commercial processing and preparation represents the main source of sodium intake in American diets.2 Nevertheless, adding salt at the table is still very common, and people who add salt at the table have 1.5 g higher salt intakes than those who do not add salt.3 And as we know, high sodium intake has been associated with elevated blood pressure and an increased rate of cardiovascular disease.4
I have designed a self-produced “Salt Awareness—Limit Today” (SALT) label (FIGURE). This label is attached to the cap of a salt shaker in such a way that less salt flows through the openings of the cap. Moreover, the label serves as a reminder to limit salt intake in general. The feedback I have received from my patients has been extremely positive; they report increased awareness and decreased sodium intake. I mention it here so that others may benefit.
Zvi Weizman, MD
Beer-Sheva, Israel
1. Cobb LK, Anderson CA, Elliott P, et al; American Heart Association Council on Lifestyle and Metabolic Health. Methodological issues in cohort studies that relate sodium intake to cardiovascular disease outcomes: a science advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2014;129:1173-1186.
2. Jackson SL, King SM, Zhao L, et al. Prevalence of excess sodium intake in the United States - NHANES, 2009-2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016;64:1393-1397.
3. Webster J, Su’a SA, Ieremia M, et al. Salt intakes, knowledge, and behavior in Samoa: Monitoring salt-consumption patterns through the World Health Organization’s surveillance of noncommunicable disease risk factors (STEPS). J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2016.
4. Mozaffarian D, Fahimi S, Singh GM, et al; Global Burden of Diseases Nutrition and Chronic Diseases Expert Group. Global sodium consumption and death from cardiovascular causes. N Engl J Med. 2014;371:624-634.
The average American consumes about 3400 mg/d of sodium, which is more than double the 1500 mg recommended by the American Heart Association.1 Excess sodium added to foods during commercial processing and preparation represents the main source of sodium intake in American diets.2 Nevertheless, adding salt at the table is still very common, and people who add salt at the table have 1.5 g higher salt intakes than those who do not add salt.3 And as we know, high sodium intake has been associated with elevated blood pressure and an increased rate of cardiovascular disease.4
I have designed a self-produced “Salt Awareness—Limit Today” (SALT) label (FIGURE). This label is attached to the cap of a salt shaker in such a way that less salt flows through the openings of the cap. Moreover, the label serves as a reminder to limit salt intake in general. The feedback I have received from my patients has been extremely positive; they report increased awareness and decreased sodium intake. I mention it here so that others may benefit.
Zvi Weizman, MD
Beer-Sheva, Israel
The average American consumes about 3400 mg/d of sodium, which is more than double the 1500 mg recommended by the American Heart Association.1 Excess sodium added to foods during commercial processing and preparation represents the main source of sodium intake in American diets.2 Nevertheless, adding salt at the table is still very common, and people who add salt at the table have 1.5 g higher salt intakes than those who do not add salt.3 And as we know, high sodium intake has been associated with elevated blood pressure and an increased rate of cardiovascular disease.4
I have designed a self-produced “Salt Awareness—Limit Today” (SALT) label (FIGURE). This label is attached to the cap of a salt shaker in such a way that less salt flows through the openings of the cap. Moreover, the label serves as a reminder to limit salt intake in general. The feedback I have received from my patients has been extremely positive; they report increased awareness and decreased sodium intake. I mention it here so that others may benefit.
Zvi Weizman, MD
Beer-Sheva, Israel
1. Cobb LK, Anderson CA, Elliott P, et al; American Heart Association Council on Lifestyle and Metabolic Health. Methodological issues in cohort studies that relate sodium intake to cardiovascular disease outcomes: a science advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2014;129:1173-1186.
2. Jackson SL, King SM, Zhao L, et al. Prevalence of excess sodium intake in the United States - NHANES, 2009-2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016;64:1393-1397.
3. Webster J, Su’a SA, Ieremia M, et al. Salt intakes, knowledge, and behavior in Samoa: Monitoring salt-consumption patterns through the World Health Organization’s surveillance of noncommunicable disease risk factors (STEPS). J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2016.
4. Mozaffarian D, Fahimi S, Singh GM, et al; Global Burden of Diseases Nutrition and Chronic Diseases Expert Group. Global sodium consumption and death from cardiovascular causes. N Engl J Med. 2014;371:624-634.
1. Cobb LK, Anderson CA, Elliott P, et al; American Heart Association Council on Lifestyle and Metabolic Health. Methodological issues in cohort studies that relate sodium intake to cardiovascular disease outcomes: a science advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2014;129:1173-1186.
2. Jackson SL, King SM, Zhao L, et al. Prevalence of excess sodium intake in the United States - NHANES, 2009-2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016;64:1393-1397.
3. Webster J, Su’a SA, Ieremia M, et al. Salt intakes, knowledge, and behavior in Samoa: Monitoring salt-consumption patterns through the World Health Organization’s surveillance of noncommunicable disease risk factors (STEPS). J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2016.
4. Mozaffarian D, Fahimi S, Singh GM, et al; Global Burden of Diseases Nutrition and Chronic Diseases Expert Group. Global sodium consumption and death from cardiovascular causes. N Engl J Med. 2014;371:624-634.