As reported in The New York Times, reducing the intake of salt may prove beneficial to the health. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, eating less salt may be helpful in reducing the cases of heart disease, stroke and heart attacks. Reducing the intake of salt to just half a teaspoon each day may save as many as 92000 US deaths and about $ 24 billion medical costs each year. The benefits involved with the reduction of salt intake would be similar to the benefits of quitting smoking, reducing weight and lowering cholesterol level.
Normally, an American adult consumes about 5.8 grams of salt per day which is far more than the recommended amount of salt. The average amount of salt recommended is just half a teaspoon per day that amounts to about 3 grams per day. In a nationwide effort to cut the use of salt by 20%, the New York City Department of Health are trying to persuade and encourage the manufacturers of prepackaged food to reduce the use of sodium in their products. Another campaign known as the National Salt Reduction Initiative has been modeled which has been supported by a number of professional organizations.
Most of the people presume that the restriction to the intake of salt is applicable to some people only but this perception is completely wrong as the risk of developing hypertension is increased by 90 percent when an individual reaches 50 years of age. The call towards the reduced consumption of salt is not however the first call ever that is issued. And this time in order to make the call a successful one the researchers are calling in for a national regulatory effort to lower dietary salt. The research was conducted in the University of California, San Francisco on a computer model.
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