Blood Pressure & Health

Salt Cuts – Read the Label

Salt increases blood pressure in 30 percent of the population that does not have high blood pressure. Salt does not increase blood pressure readings in 70 percent of the population that does not already have high blood pressure.

Data suggest that less-well-educated groups, and blacks, are more likely to have high blood pressure than are other groups. This may be related to the higher incidence of obesity, and the lower incidence of balanced diets, in the high-blood-pressure groups.

Government want to control everyone’s salt intake because the groups most at risk are also the groups least likely to take the advice to manage their high blood pressure by cutting down on salt.

There is a difference between wanting to provide information about salt content on menus or controlling salt in packaged foods, verses “control everyone’s salt intake”.

You are always free to tip the salt shaker as heavily as you want. Don’t complain about the nanny state if you can’t even be bothered to season your food to taste.

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Food producers are taking a new tack in their long-running effort to sell products with less salt. Instead of offering foods labeled as low salt that few people eat, they are gradually reducing the salt from some of their most popular menu items – but not making a point of it on the lable. Source Wall Street Journal.

This is finally a good step in the right direction and none too soon.

Why not taper the salt content to zero? We’re past the days when it was needed as a preservative. If someone wants the stuff, they can always add it.

This is a great idea. By a slow reduction in salt content people will adjust to it without cutting back on purchases of the product. That will allow producers to make further cuts in salt content until we reach a more healthful level. Unfortunatley restaurants will need to make reductions as well.

The elimination of salt in most prepared food products would be a welcome development. I note with interest that so called chefs on cooking shows seem to use entirely too much salt in preparing their dishes. I have cooked salt free for my entire adult life and find my food as flavorable as any other food preparations. Salt is far from the only effective seasoning. The use of proper herbs and other non-salt spices can provide a tasty and enjoyable
palate.

But what about the sugar?

It matters not to me how much salt is removed from prepared foods. They can remove all of it as far as I’m concerned. I can always replace it, and then some, at home. But I can’t remove the sugar that food manufacturers add to foods that normally would not require sugar at all. That is, I don’t know of any recipes that call for putting sugar in tomato soup. But Campbell’s sure adds it. And so do almost every other soup and prepared food manufacturers. And it can’t be removed when you bring it home. I’m much more concerned about the arbitrary addition of sugar and other sweeteners to prepared food. And not only healthwise. It just ruins the taste of otherwise reasonably good food.

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