Early exposure to sodium may set the stage for a lifetime of salty desires.

Do you love to lick salt from the surface of foods? That desire may have started in infancy. Babies either dislike or are indifferent to salt when born. In a small, observational study, researchers have found that exposure to starchy table foods such as ready-to-eat cereals (a significant source of dietary sodium at this age) in the early months tended to prefer salty solutions over water by 6 months of age. When those who ate starchy foods as babies were retested as preschoolers, they were more likely to seek salt.

PositiveTip: Avoid adding starchy foods to an infants diet until after 6 months. This may help avoid a lifetime love for salty foods.

Cutting salt intake lowers blood pressure in diabetics.

Most cardiovascular disease risk for diabetes is linked with hypertension (high blood pressure). Researchers conducted a meta-analysis comparing high and low salt intakes. They found that restricting the amount of salt significantly reduced blood pressure, similar to the effect of single medication prescription.

PositiveTip: Public health guidelines recommend reducing salt intake to no more than one level teaspoon per day from all sources. Diabetics can greatly benefit from these restrictions too. 

The majority of today's salt intake comes from restaurant and processed foods.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the amount of sodium added to foods.

A new IOM report has concluded that public health and education programs have failed to cut American's salt intake, and therefore the FDA should incrementally cut down the sodium content of the food supply in a way that goes unnoticed by most consumers.

PositiveTip: Start adjusting your taste sensors for salt by cutting back on processed foods and passing up the salt shaker! You might be surprised at how quickly you adjust.

Modest reductions in dietary salt could save 92,000 lives per year and save $24 billion!

Dietary salt intake in the U.S. in on the rise, in spite of more and more evidence linking salt intake to hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Reducing salt intake by a modest 3 grams (1/2 teaspoon) per day per person is projected to annually reduce new cases of coronary heart disease by up to 120,000, stroke by up to 66,000, and heart attacks by up to 99,000. This in turn could save up to $24 billion each year in health care costs.

PositiveTip: The majority of dietary salt in the U.S. comes from processed foods. Stop subtracting years from your life by cutting back on these foods.

Large meta-analysis fingers salt intake and risk of stroke and heart disease.

Almost all adult populations around the world consume at least 6 grams of salt per day. A wealth of evidence points to significant health risks associated with excess salt consumption. International recommendations for salt intake is less than 1 teaspoon (5-6 grams) daily. A recent meta-anhalysis of the results of 19 independent cohort samples with 177, 025 participants followed for up to 19 years has shown high salt intake is strongly associated with stroke and cardiovascular disease.

PositiveTip: Going easy on the salt will lower your risk for hypertension, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Putting the salt shaker away may extend your life!

Got resistant hypertension? Maybe you should shun the salt shaker!

Resistant hypertension--elevated high blood pressure despite the use of three or more antihypetensive medications--is fairly common, and frustrating to both patient and physician. A small, randomized crossover trial of 12 such patents has demonstrated the effectiveness of a low-sodium diet. The low sodium diet had only 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and the high sodium diet contained 7.5 teaspoons of salt. Systolic and diastolic pressures were significantly lowered by 22.7 mmHg and 9.1 mmHG, respectively, while on the low-sodium diet.

Pass on the salt shaker--it could save us all $18 billion per year!

Reducing the average intake of sodium in Americans' diets to the recommended amounts could save the nation $18 billion annually in avoided health care costs and improve the quality of life for millions according to new research conducted by the RAND Corporation. If all Americans met the national sodium guidelines 11 million cases of high blood pressure could be eliminated. In addition, the researchers estimated that meeting sodium consumption guides would save 312,000 quality adjusted life years each year. This is a research measurement that adjusts increased longevity for the relative healthiness experienced during additional years of life.