SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – Federal health agencies are recommending a drastic cut in the amount of sodium we intake. This week’s advisory panel recommendation will serve as the basis of a revised food pyramid.
Several studies show we need a lot less salt than is currently recommended and that most of us are ignoring those recommendations. Josh Stange is one of the many people that are noticing that these recommendations keep changing.
"Just about anything you look at now has got about 1/2 your daily value," says Stange.
Every five years the government scrutinizes its food pyramid. As a result, advisors are now saying former recommendations were too salty.
Currently, the federal guideline is 2,300 milligrams per day. Advisors are pushing for it to be reduced to 1,500 milligrams a day, but Americans currently average a whopping consumption of 3,400 milligrams a day.
A dietician at U of U, Julie Metos says, "this is about what we are eating and that's a lot of salt, and people look at it and say I would never use that much salt."
Metos says a majority of that salt is already prepared in the food we eat, with only five percent of salt in the average diet being added with a salt shaker. The rest comes from food prepared away from home, including foods packaged at the grocery store.
"It does require looking at the label. It will require food manufacturers to help us change out taste buds by lowering the amounts in the foods and it probably will take a little more conscious eating."
The new recommendations also include improved food education and encouragement for families to cook at home. They’re emphasizing a more plant based diet to reduce high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
Preliminary recommendations will be reviewed by the agencies involved, and public opinion and comment is welcome.
