Chippies told to hold the salt in drive to beat heart disease (UK)

UK Government Ministers want to reduce the amount of salt in popular dishes, such as chips and sandwiches, to help prevent thousands of early deaths each year from heart disease and stroke. Food manufacturers and caterers will be set targets to help cut by a quarter the amount of salt consumed every day. Research suggests that more than half of shoppers "rarely or never" consider the amount of salt in food, despite 86 per cent knowing that too much is unhealthy. The Department of Health is aiming to help consumers reduce their salt intake from an average of 8.1g a day to 6g. Catering and takeaway companies will be set "maximum targets" for the salt content of their most popular dishes. Companies will also be urged to promote low-salt options

Olive Garden, other restaurants set to offer healthier meals (USA)

Olive Garden, Red Lobster and other sister restaurants are set to offer healthier meals by 2016. According to the Associated Press, Darden Restaurants Inc. pledged to cut 10 percent of both calories and sodium content from all restaurant meals over the next five years. The restaurant chains are expected to reduce these levels further by up to 20 percent within the next 10 years. Aside from sodium and calorie changes in all menu items, the restaurants are expected to make significant changes in their meals for children. According to the AP, children’s meals will no longer have side orders of french fries; kids will have a choice of fruits or vegetables instead. One percent milk will be served with all of the children’s items, unless otherwise requested - ThirdAge

Whitehall targets threaten the Great British Breakfast (UK)

For many, a plate of bacon, sausage and eggs makes the perfect start to a lazy Sunday. But Government targets are about to put the great British breakfast under threat. Butchers and other food retailers say health diktats to reduce salt levels could ruin the taste of some of our favourite dishes, with producers of bacon and sausages facing the greatest difficulties. More than 60 food firms and supermarkets have pledged to meet salt reduction targets agreed by the Coalition. But as the deadline grows closer, they fear compromising the familiar tastes valued by customers unless extra additives are introduced. They also fear risking safety, because of the role of salt as a preservative - Telegraph

Too much salt, too little exercise bad for brain

Too much salt and too little exercise is hard on the heart, but new research suggests it can be hard on the brain, too. A three-year study of more than 1,200 people has linked a salty diet and sedentary lifestyle to cognitive decline in old age. "It's important for people to know there are things you can do to help protect your brains as you're aging," said study author Carol Greenwood, a nutrition scientist and interim director of the Baycrest Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied and Evaluative Research in Toronto. "You do have some control, and lifestyle is key." Using data from the Longitudinal Study on Nutrition and Successful Aging, a study of people between the ages of 67 and 84, Greenwood and colleagues found that men and women with the highest daily sodium intake and the lowest level of exercise performed poorer over time on cognitive tests than those with low sodium intake and an active lifestyle. The findings held up even when the researchers controlled for such factors as education, waist circumference, diabetes and overall diet

Cutting salt 'should be global priority'

The UN must make reducing salt intake a global health priority, say UK scientists. Writing in the British Medical Journal they say a 15% cut in consumption could save 8.5 million lives around the world over the next decade. The report says practical steps to reduce consumption should be drawn up without delay. If voluntary measures do not work, the food industry should be compelled to cut salt levels, it says. The report - by researchers at the Universities of Warwick and Liverpool - says that after cutting tobacco consumption, getting people to eat less salt would be the most cost effective way to improve global health. The researchers say there is a "consistent, direct relation between salt intake and blood pressure". High blood pressure in turn is linked to heart disease, stroke and kidney problems

Physical activity decreases salt's effect on blood pressure

The more physically active you are, the less your blood pressure rises in response to a high-salt diet, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions. "Patients should be advised to increase their physical activity and eat less sodium," said Casey M. Rebholz, M.P.H., lead author of the study and a medical student at the Tulane School of Medicine and doctoral student at the Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. "Restricting sodium is particularly important in lowering blood pressure among more sedentary people." Investigators compared study participants' blood pressure on two one-week diets, one low in sodium (3,000 mg/day) and the other high in sodium (18,000 mg/day). The American Heart Association recommends consuming less than 1,500 mg/day of sodium

High salt levels in ready made Sunday lunch warning (UK)

"Including too many ready-made items in a Sunday roast could lead to excessive salt intake, says research from a health charity. In a survey of 600 supermarket products, Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) found that unnecessary amounts of salt are being hidden in certain items of prepared food. But cooking and preparing fresh food reduces levels dramatically, it says. UK supermarkets say they are leading the way in salt reduction in Europe. Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) said a family Sunday roast can be a "balanced and healthy" meal. But it found that choosing all ready-made products for a typical Sunday lunch - meat, vegetables and condiments - could result in nearly 10 grams of salt being consumed. An adult's daily maximum recommended salt intake is 6g" - BBC

Hold the salt, WHO tells Canada

"They fought the H1N1 flu pandemic to a draw. Now the World Health Organization is taking on a project every bit as challenging - convincing Canadians to hold the salt. This week, Calgary hosted the second of three WHO conferences on Population Sodium Reduction Strategies, bringing global policy-makers, experts and food industry representatives as well as Canadian government officials together for the two-day event. The conference ended Wednesday and looked at ways to assess salt consumption and evaluate programs aimed at reducing sodium intake. 'Countries need to know how much salt is consumed, where in the diet the salt comes from and how to determine the effectiveness of national programs to reduce salt,' said Dr. Norm Campbell, co-chairman of the conference and University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine professor. Canadians eat a lot of sodium, noted Campbell, and it doesn't just come from the salt shaker in the middle of the table. Processed food is a major culprit and is found in everything from pizza to cereal to condiments. 'When we start to look at high blood pressure, salt is one of the main causes,' said Campbell. 'It's been estimated by the World Health Organization that high blood pressure is the leading risk for death around the world'

Pepsi pledges cuts in fat, salt, sugar (USA)

"The world's second-largest food and beverage company says it will reduce the saturated fat, sodium, and sugar in its products to make them more nutritious. Pepsi says it will cut up to one-quarter of the unhealthy ingredients by 2020, and improve labels to give consumers clearer information on what they are eating. Several other major processed food manufacturers - Kraft, ConAgra, and Campbell Soup - have also announced cuts in sodium. Last week Pepsi said it would continue a program to take its high-calorie soft-drinks out of schools and replace them with less-fattening alternatives. The action by various companies comes as U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama has been campaigning for healthier foods and more physical activities in schools to fight childhood obesity"

Americans eat too much salt, CDC says

People in the United States consume more than twice the recommended amount of salt, raising their risk for high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, government health experts said on Thursday. They found nearly 70 percent of U.S. adults are in high-risk groups that would benefit from a lower-salt diet of no more than 1,500 mg per day, yet most consume closer to 3,500 mg per day. "It's important for people to eat less salt. People who adopt a heart-healthy eating pattern that includes a diet low in sodium and rich in potassium and calcium can improve their blood pressure," Dr. Darwin Labarthe of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement - Reuters

Salt intake, stroke, and cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of prospective studies (BMJ)

"During the past century, the evidence for the risks imposed on human health by excess salt consumption has become compelling. The causal relation between habitual dietary salt intake and blood pressure has been established through experimental, epidemiological, migration, and intervention studies. Most adult populations around the world have average daily salt intakes higher than 6 g, and for many in eastern Europe and Asia higher than 12 g. International recommendations suggest that average population salt intake should be less than 5-6 g per day." - BMJ

Shock finding on salt levels in big-name brand foods (UK)

"Customers searching for the healthy options on supermarket shelves may be better-off choosing the cheaper deals, according to a study which has found that own-brand and "value" ranges have the lowest levels of salt. The study was carried out by the campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) and comes a day before the Food Standards Agency launches the next part of its campaign to reduce salt consumption in the UK. The FSA will warn customers to be aware of the wide variation in salt levels in these types of food" - Guardian

Cutting salt could save U.S. billions of dollars

"If Americans were to cut their salt intake to recommended levels, they'd have far fewer cases of high blood pressure, and save billions of dollars in health care costs, a new study estimates. Because high sodium intake can contribute to high blood pressure - and its complications, including heart and kidney disease - the Institute of Medicine recommends that adults consume no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day. The average American, however, gets about 1,000 mg more than that, according to the authors of the study in the American Journal of Health Promotion. In the new study, investigators at the non-profit research organization RAND calculated the potential health and financial benefits that could be reaped if Americans cut their average sodium intake to 2,300 mg." - Reuters

Heart attack entrées with side orders of stroke

"Unsafe levels of sodium chloride, or salt, in chain restaurant meals increase one's chance of developing hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The nonprofit food safety and nutrition watchdog group is exposing chain restaurant meals with dangerously high levels of sodium and is renewing its call on industry and government to lower sodium levels in foods"

American Heart Association supports lower sodium limits for most Americans

"New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides additional scientific evidence that the majority of Americans over the age of twenty should limit the amount of sodium (salt) they consume daily to 1,500 milligrams (mg) to prevent and reduce high blood pressure. The new data are published in the March 26, 2009 issue of the CDC's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report" - AHA

Modest reductions in dietary salt would reap great benefits

"US researchers say even a small reduction in the amount of salt in the daily diet would have a huge public-health impact. Dr Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo (University of California, San Francisco) and colleagues calculate that cutting just 1g of salt a day would prevent a quarter of a million new heart-disease cases and 200,000 deaths from any cause over a decade. Bibbins-Domingo told heartwire that "everyone would benefit, but certain groups gain more." These include African Americans, women, and those under 65, she noted. Americans currently eat 9 to 12g of salt per day, an amount far in excess of the 5 to 6g per day that is recommended by most health organizations, she said. She reported the new findings in a poster at the AHA 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention last week" - heartwire

More potassium, less salt better combination to prevent heart disease

"We know that a low salt diet is important to control high blood pressure that leads to heart disease. According to new research from Loyola University, it seems equally as important to increase our potassium intake if we really want to reduce our risk of heart disease. According to study author Dr. Paul Whelton, president and CEO of Loyola University Health System, "There isn't as much focus on potassium, but potassium seems to be effective in lowering blood pressure and the combination of a higher intake of potassium and lower consumption of sodium seems to be more effective than either on its own in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease." - maxHealth

Salt may restrict blood flow to heart

Reducing the salt in your diet can help lower your blood pressure, but it may also lower your risk for having a heart attack or stroke in another important way. Results from a new study suggest that eating a low-sodium diet can also help keep blood vessels working properly. The study measured the impact of salt restriction on the endothelium, the thin layer of cells that line the interior of the blood vessels and help regulate blood flow. Overweight and obese study participants with normal blood pressure who restricted the sodium in their diets showed evidence of improved endothelial function compared to participants who did not restrict salt. The improvement appeared to be unrelated to the impact on blood pressure, suggesting that salt restriction is independently protective of blood vessel function. "We found that if we reduced the salt in the diet, we saw a direct, positive impact on blood vessels," nutrition researcher and study co-author Jennifer B. Keogh, PhD, tells WebMD.

Reducing salt helpful beyond hypertension

"Salt reduction may offer cardio-protective effects beyond blood pressure reduction, researchers in Australia found. Kacie Dickinson of Flinders University in Australia and colleagues said the study provided further evidence of the importance of decreasing sodium intake to improve blood vessel health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The study, published in the February issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that sodium reduction is beneficial for people who have normal blood pressure and those who are overweight or obese - and the benefits start in just a few weeks. "Regardless of one's body weight or blood pressure, sodium reduction offers many health benefits," Dickinson said in a statement" - redOrbit

Easy on the salt!

Most people know that a high-sodium diet can increase the risk of high blood pressure and subsequently heart attack and stroke. Despite that, the average American consumes far more than the recommended daily limit of salt. Looking to cut back? Consumer Reports tells us with which foods to start. Testers had almost 100 staffers at Consumer Reports taste-test less-salty versions of high-sodium foods such as pasta sauce, turkey breast, and chicken noodle soup. People were asked whether they would eat each food again, not knowing they were testing lower-sodium foods - WTNH.com