A look at sodium in the fight against heart disease

If you have diabetes, then you’re at risk for heart disease. If you’re at risk for heart disease, then you need to pay special attention to controlling your blood pressure. If you want to control your blood pressure, cutting back on salt (sodium) may be helpful.

First, a quick chemistry lesson. Sodium is one of the two elements in table salt (the other is chloride). Sodium is essential to many body functions, but too much of it causes the body to hold fluid. The amount of fluid in blood vessels then increases, raising blood pressure—the force of the blood against blood vessel walls. This puts a strain on the heart.

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (cardio=heart; vascular=blood vessels). It is the number-one killer of people in the U.S. A representative of the American Public Health Association has reported that too much sodium in the diet is directly responsible for approximately 150,000 deaths each year. People with diabetes need to be particularly careful about controlling high blood pressure and other heart-related risk factors, because cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of illness and death among these individuals.

We’re way over our sodium limit

Some basics about sodium intake:

• One teaspoon of salt contains about 2,400 milligrams (mg) of sodium.
• In general, the recommended limit for sodium intake is 2,300 mg a day.
• The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,000 mg of sodium a day for people with heart disease.
• The U.S. government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans are even stricter, suggesting that people who have high blood pressure or who are middle-aged or older have no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day.

Here in the United States, the average person takes in nearly 3,300 mg of sodium every day. Men aged 31 to 50 years are the biggest offenders, as they consume an average 4,250 mg daily.

Where’s the salt?

You can control how much salt you put on your food, but most of the sodium consumed by Americans is already in the processed foods and restaurant meals we eat. Luckily, the nutritional labels on packaged foods indicate the amount of sodium in each serving, so you can keep track of your daily intake that way. You can also check those labels to find different preparations of your favorite foods with less sodium.

If salt is important to you in judging the taste of food, don’t try to eliminate it from your diet or you’ll just be unhappy. Start by taking your saltshaker off the table. Experiment with other flavorings, such as herbs, spices, and lemon. Make your own salt-free popcorn. Try to eat fewer packaged foods, or at least find the items that contain the least sodium.

A look at diets

A 5-year study followed more than 400 adults on 3 different eating plans, all of which included the same amount of daily sodium. Blood pressure improved in the people on the 2 plans that included the most fruits and vegetables. This was seen especially among the people who had high blood pressure at the start of the study.

In the next part of the study, the researchers used 2 eating plans—1 of them healthful and the other not so healthful. Both plans were further divided into 3 different levels of sodium content: 3,300 mg, 2,400 mg, and 1,500 mg. In both diets, the person’s blood pressure improved (decreased) along with

the sodium level. The drop in blood pressure at each sodium level was greater among people eating the healthier diet.

Many in need

Almost all Americans need to cut back on salt. This is a pretty easy change to make and one that offers considerable health benefits in return.

From Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter