Interventions to Reduce Salt Intake

Government of Canada welcomes interventions to reduce the intake of sodium through a variety of measures, says survey.

Government of Canada welcomes interventions to reduce the intake of sodium through a variety of measures, says survey. The top barriers to limiting sodium intake are a lack of lower sodium packaged and processed foods and lower sodium restaurant menu options.

"Canadians are supportive of government intervention to lower salt intake," says lead investigator Mary R. L'Abbe, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at University of Toronto, noting that most Canadians eat more than the recommended amount of sodium, increasing their risk of developing high blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions.

Drugs Causing Low Blood Sodium Levels / Hyponatremia
Many drugs can lower your blood sodium levels or hyponatremia. Low blood sodium symptoms are associated with salt level in blood and causes of hyponatremia are decrease in sodium and water content.

To combat high sodium in Canadian diets, a federal government-appointed multi-stakeholder Sodium Working Group developed, "A Sodium Reduction Strategy for Canada," a formal set of recommendations that focus on the food supply, education and awareness, and research in order to lower the amount of sodium Canadians eat from an average 3,400 mg per day to 2,300 mg per day by 2016. The group also called for voluntary sodium reductions in the food industry coupled with regular monitoring of progress, which may be enforced through regulation should industry fail to reach targets.

To assess Canadians' concern about sodium, actions, and barriers in limiting sodium consumption, researchers from the University of Toronto and University of Guelph conducted an online survey with a representative sample of the Canadian population in terms of age, sex, province, and education.

In light of the proposed federal Bill C-460 – legislating the group's recommendations – investigators also sought to determine Canadians' level of support for a number of sodium reduction initiatives.

Taste Forms the Basis on Which Animals Avoid High Salt Concentrations
Researchers have found out how animals used their tongue to detect high concentrations of salt, which is the first step in the development of salt-avoiding behavior in most mammals.

There was very high support for almost all types of public health interventions to lower sodium. Eighty percent of respondents would like the food industry to lower the amount of sodium in food. A large number supported setting maximum amounts of sodium in grocery and restaurant foods and for foods served in public settings like schools and hospitals. There was little support for taxation of high sodium foods or subsidizing lower sodium foods.

Among the 2,603 people surveyed, 67 percent were concerned about their sodium intake, especially older individuals and those with high blood pressure.

Reducing Salt Could Save Lives in US
According to a recent study published in Hypertension, less sodium in the U.S. diet could save 280,000 to 500,000 lives over 10 years.

Approximately half of the respondents were actively limiting their sodium intake. However, many thought they consumed low amounts of sodium because they did not add salt to their food. Others were not limiting their sodium intake because they had low or normal blood pressure and overall good health, contradicting the literature demonstrating benefits of sodium reduction in individuals with normal blood pressure. Only 16 percent of people knew the recommended intake for sodium (1,500 mg per day), and 12 percent knew the maximum amount that should be consumed (2,300 mg per day).

Source-Eurekalert

Reduce Salt in Breads, Meats and Sauces
A University of Otago study has suggested the introduction of limits on the quantity of salt used in bread, meats and sauces and a tax on junk food