NSRI Aims to Reduce Sodium Intake, Improve Heart Health

CAROLINE REN
Copy Editor

Across America, individuals generally do not carefully monitor what they consume. According to the Institute of Medicine, the average daily sodium intake in the U.S. is 3,400 mg, which is above the 2,300 mg recommended by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Approximately 80 percent of the sodium in people’s diets comes from prepackaged and prepared foods, leading to the New York City Health Department’s National Salt Reduction Initiative (NSRI). The program aims to lower sodium in prepackaged and restaurant food. Corporations will be encouraged to meet targets in different food categories in order to reduce the average American sodium intake by 20 percent by 2014.
“Salt is needed for our bodies; just don’t [consume] too much,” school nurse Anita Man said.
The NSRI exists because people do not always know what they are consuming. Not all high-sodium foods taste salty; for example, bread and other cereals contribute one-third of sodium to the typical daily diet. About another one-third of sodium intake comes from foods prepared outside the home.
“I don’t normally keep track of the sodium I eat, but now that [I know the risks of excessive sodium intake], I’d consider [watching what I eat],” sophomore Elizabeth Wong said.
Additionally, reducing the amount of sodium in foods could potentially save thousands of lives and billions of dollars in health care costs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that reducing sodium intake from prepackaged and restaurant foods will save 280,000 to 500,000 lives over the course of a decade. Excess sodium contributes to high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke; cardiovascular disease alone accounts for 800,000 deaths a year in the U.S.
“It’s not just salt that affects blood pressure; other factors contribute as well. A headache might signal high blood pressure, so test your blood pressure every once in a while,” Man said.
The CDC recommends reducing sodium intake by requesting lower sodium options at restaurants, reading nutritional facts on labels and eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
One way to detect sodium in foods is to read the ingredients list and look for the words “soda” and “sodium.” Many forms of sodium are used as preservatives, color enhancers, stabilizers and ingredient binders.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a food cannot be labeled as healthy if it contains more than 480 mg of sodium per reference amount. A food product can be labeled “low sodium” if it has 140 or less mg of sodium per serving.
“Natural foods already have sodium even before you add table salt,” Man said. “Don’t add more table salt [to foods that are already salty].”