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Most Americans — Especially Those at Risk — Consume Too Much Dietary Sodium
The vast majority of Americans are not keeping within published dietary guidelines for sodium intake, according to a CDC analysis of NHANES data published in MMWR.
Government guidelines recommend that people aged 2 years and older should have less than 2300 mg of sodium daily. However, the recommended limit is even lower (1500 mg per day) for certain higher-risk groups: adults over age 50, blacks, and people with hypertension, diabetes, or kidney disease. Nearly half the population falls into these higher-risk groups, the CDC found.
The analysis showed that 88% of Americans not at risk exceed the 2300-mg limit, and 99% of those in the higher-risk categories exceed the 1500-mg limit.
The American Heart Association calls the CDC report "too conservative." It quotes a former association president: "We all should be consuming less than 1500 mg a day of sodium, unless your healthcare provider has told you that this doesn't apply to you."
LINK(S):
MMWR article (Free)
U.S. dietary guidelines (Free)
AHA response (Free)
Published in Physician's First Watch October 21, 2011
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- And it tastes awful too!
Karen Williams, St Paul, MN, 25 Oct 2011 11:19 AM EST
Specialty: Pharmaceutical Medicine
The soup served at the cafe at my clinic is so salty it's inedible. Complaints are ignored; "it comes processed... [more]
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