The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention think you may be eating too much salt. According to CNN, the CDC has recently said that about nine out of 10 adult Americans consume too much salt every day, particularly because of salt in processed foods and at restaurants.
U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of salt per day, and that amount decreases for African Americans, people over 50 and those with heart conditions. But more and more often, Americans are eating upwards of 3,300 milligrams daily.
In a country already struggling with obesity and resulting heart conditions, this is a problem. High sodium levels put people at risk for increased blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, the CDC said.
And there’s a financial toll as well.
“These diseases kill more than 800,000 Americans each year and contribute an estimated $273 billion in health care costs,” CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said.
Some of the biggest perpetrators of high sodium include bread and rolls, deli lunch meats, pizza, poultry, soups, cheeseburgers and other sandwiches, cheese, pasta mixed dishes, meat mixed dishes and snack foods like pretzels or popcorn. Together, they account for more than 40 percent of the sodium people consume.
