Cut the Salt! : Health Bulletin : NYC DOHMH

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene


	Health Bulletin Cut the Salt! #36 in a series of Health Bulletins on issues of pressing interest to all New Yorkers. Volume 5, Number 2. Click here to download the PDF version of this Health Bulletin. And lower your risk of heart attack and stroke. • People who eat too much salt are more likely to have high blood pressure, heart attacks, and stroke. • Your salt shaker is not the biggest culprit! Most salt sneaks into the diet in processed, packaged foods. • To reduce salt intake, check food labels for sodium content. Choose foods with less than 5% of the daily value of sodium per serving. • At home, experiment with other seasonings to add flavor. ------------------------------------------------------------- Sodium Chloride is the chemical name for salt. Other food additives also contain sodium. It’s sodium that makes blood pressure go up. back to top Sodium Content of Selected Food Items Most People Should Eat No More Than 2,300 mg/Day Click here for the listing. back to top Too Much Salt Is Harmful On average, people eat twice as much salt as the healthy limit. • Most people should eat no more than 2,300 milligrams per day (about 1 teaspoon of regular table salt). • People with high blood pressure, black people (who are often more salt-sensitive), and middle-aged and older people should eat less salt (no more than 1,500 milligrams per day). • Salt is especially bad for people who already have high blood pressure or heart disease. • Doctors sometimes put people on low-sodium or sodium-restricted diets to help lower or control high blood pressure. For more information about high blood pressure, see Health Bulletin #30: Healthy Heart – Blood Pressure. For more information about high blood pressure. back to top Restaurant Meals and Processed Foods Have Lots of Salt Most of the salt we eat – about 75% – comes from packaged, processed, store-bought food, and restaurant meals (especially fast food). • About 15% comes from salt added during cooking, or at the table. • About 10% is found naturally in food. back to top Check Food Labels Before You Buy All packaged foods have a Nutrition Facts panel. It lists the amount of sodium in each serving. • Check the % Daily Value. This tells you the percent that just one serving contains of the maximum amount of sodium most people should eat in a whole day. • See the sample Nutrition Facts panel below. Just one serving contains 28% of the maximum amount of sodium most people should eat in a whole day. • To “cut the salt,” compare labels and choose foods with the lowest % Daily Value per serving.Try to avoid foods with 20% or more sodium per serving. • Pay attention to serving sizes, too! The sample Nutrition Facts label says there are TWO servings in this package. So if you eat the whole thing, you’ll get TWICE as much salt (1,320 milligrams and 56% percent of your daily maximum amount of salt). • Some food is made with less salt (sodium). Here are different types of labeling and what they mean: Sodium-free: less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving. Very-low-sodium: 35 milligrams or less per serving. Low-sodium: 140 milligrams or less per serving. Reduced sodium: usual sodium level is reduced by 25%. Unsalted...no salt added... without added salt: made without salt normally added in processing, but still contains sodium that’s a natural part of the food itself. back to top Eating Out Ask if your meal can be prepared without added salt. • Some restaurants – especially fast food places – post nutritional information. Ask for a copy. • Don’t add salt at the table (at least taste the food first!). back to top Eating In Use salt sparingly or not at all. • Try 1/2 teaspoon when recipes call for 1 teaspoon. • Many foods can be prepared without adding any salt. • Use herbs and spices in place of salt. • Cut down on salt gradually, over a few weeks or even months. You’ll be less likely to notice a difference. • Snack on fresh fruit or vegetables instead of salty chips or popcorn. • Fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats usually have much less salt than canned, pre-cooked, or processed types. • Pickled and preserved foods are usually very high in sodium. Experiment with low-salt and salt-free recipes. Many ethnic cuisines use different herbs and spices that give foods their distinctive flavor. back to top More Information • NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: nyc.gov/health or call 311 • U.S. Food and Drug Administration (how to read food labels): www.cfsan.fda.gov/~acrobat/foodlab.pdf • MedLine Plus (National Institutes of Health): www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/dietarysodium.html • American Heart Association: www.americanheart.org • American Dietetic Association: http://www.eatright.org back to top For copies of any Health Bulletin • All Health Bulletins are also available at nyc.gov/health. • Visit nyc.gov/health/e-mail for a free e-mail subscription. • For a postal subscription, e-mail your name and address. to healthcml@health.nyc.gov back to top Contributions New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene 125 Worth Street, Room 342, CN 33 New York, N.Y. 10013 Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., Commissioner Bureau of Communications Sandra Mullin, Associate Commissioner Cortnie Lowe, M.F.A., Executive Editor Drew Blakeman Kenneth Lo Prepared in cooperation with: Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control Program, Bureau of Chronic Disease back to top Language Access Available in Spanish, Chinese, and other languages: call 311or visit nyc.gov/health Disponible en español: llame al 311 o visite nyc.gov/health 需要中文服務, 可電311或查訪網站 nyc.gov/health back to top Dial 311 for Non-Emergency NYC Services. Telephone Interpretation in 170 Languages. back to top