By Sally Squires
Tuesday, June 20, 2006

The American Medical Association (AMA) is turning up the heat on the food and restaurant industry to serve products with less sodium.

Last week, the AMA's House of Delegates passed a resolution calling for a 50 percent reduction in sodium content of processed foods, fast foods and restaurant meals over the next 10 years. The AMA, which represents a quarter-million U.S. physicians, also urged the Food and Drug Administration to revoke salt's status as a food ingredient "generally recognized as safe."

More than 30 percent of adults, an estimated 65 million Americans, already have high blood pressure, a condition that increases the risk of stroke, kidney disease and heart problems. Since blood pressure rises with age, the numbers are expected to grow as the baby boomer population edges past 60.

Blood pressure increases are also fueled by inactivity, obesity, alcohol consumption and sodium intake. Bottom line: U.S. adults 55 and older have a 90 percent lifetime risk of high blood pressure -- yes, that means that nine out of 10 are poised to develop hypertension.

The good news: They all don't have to.

In the few remaining cultures where salt consumption is much lower, so are rates of high blood pressure. Even so, salt sensitivity varies from person to person -- a fact that has fueled debate about the benefits of reducing sodium intake. But in recent years, new analyses of scientific studies have been strong enough to prompt the World Health Organization and health groups in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Finland and the United States to urge significant reductions in sodium. In addition to the AMA, the American Public Health Association, the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute have called for reductions.

The latest U.S. Dietary Guidelines set the daily intake of sodium at 2,300 milligrams or less for adults 50 and younger. That's equal to about a teaspoon of salt daily. For older adults, African Americans and people who already have high blood pressure, the recommended daily intake is 1,500 milligrams or less, about the amount found in a cup of canned chicken noodle soup and a slice of frozen cheese pizza. (Pepperoni and sausage boost sodium higher.)

"And remember, these are the daily maximums, not what you should aim for," notes Edward Roccella, director of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Tell that to American adults, whose average consumption is 4,000 milligrams of sodium per day for every 2,000 calories consumed. The AMA found that 95 percent of American men and 75 percent of women aged 31 to 50 regularly ingest more than the upper daily limit for sodium.

Nor is hiding the salt shaker likely to help. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee noted that nearly 80 percent of the sodium consumed comes from processed food and meals at restaurants and fast-food outlets.

"Many doctors have recommended to hypertensive patients to cut down on sodium and not use salt in cooking or at the table," says Stephen Havas, vice president of science, quality and public health for the AMA and a co-author of the resolution on sodium. "So the patient is left thinking that they're doing something about it when [in fact] they're not addressing the major source of sodium."

In addition to challenging restaurants and fast-food establishments to cut the sodium, the AMA also asked for warning labels on high-sodium grocery items. A frozen entree, for example, "may contain one to two teaspoons of salt," Havas said. "And it doesn't necessarily taste salty. You don't realize that you are being exposed to that salt load."

Here's what you can do to reduce the salt in your diet and minimize its ill effects.

Choose reduced-sodium processed foods. Commercially prepared soups can be major sodium offenders. Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup has 890 milligrams of sodium per cup. Better choice: Campbell's Healthy Request Chicken Noodle, with 450 milligrams. Go lower with Campbell's Low Sodium Chicken Noodle, with 120 milligrams for the whole can (though even the company says it's not a taste winner). In August, Campbell's plans to introduce soups flavored with sea salt, which contains less sodium than other salts.

Start your day wisely. Cheerios, oatmeal and shredded wheat are all healthy whole grains. But Cheerios has 210 milligrams of sodium per ounce, compared with zero for the other two.

Nurse your craving for salt. Soothe it with an olive -- a single one has about 45 milligrams of sodium -- or an ounce of cocktail peanuts (110 milligrams for the regular salted nuts; 55 milligrams for the lightly salted) or taco chips (about 110 milligrams per ounce.)

Watch out for salty surprises . Canned, bottled and processed foods highest in sodium include tomato products. Ketchup has 190 milligrams per tablespoon. Regular V8 vegetable juice contains 620 milligrams per eight ounces; spicy V8 has 720 milligrams -- nearly half a day's worth for those over 50. Two tablespoons of salsa have about 150 milligrams of sodium. By comparison, Giant No-Salt-Added tomato sauce has just 15 milligrams of sodium per quarter-cup. Eight ounces of low-sodium V8 contains about 160 milligrams. Other leading sources of hidden sodium include bread, bottled salad dressings (choose oil and vinegar instead), marinades, sauces, luncheon meats, cheese and frozen dinners.

Rinse canned food where possible . Run canned beans and other vegetables as well as canned fish, chicken and meat under water to remove some of the sodium added in processing.

Pig out on fruit and vegetables . They're packed with potassium, which helps counteract sodium's effects on blood pressure. ?

Join Sally Squires, author of "Secrets of the Lean Plate Club," today from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at www.leanplateclub.com, where you can also subscribe to the free LPC e-mail newsletter.