Scientific Group Wants Feds To Regulate Salt In Foods
By: Charlotte Ames
Updated: April 20, 2010
A top scientific group is asking the federal government to start regulating the amount of salt in prepared foods.
Most of us now consume about twice as much salt as we need and excessive salt can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease.
Americans love the taste of salt, but the salt from the shaker is only part of the problem. It's the salt that you can't see - hidden inside processed foods, like soups, frozen pizzas, and salad dressing that really adds up. Close to 80% of salt in our diet comes from processed foods.
Now the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, is urging the government to step in and force food makers to gradually cut the salt in those foods.
The American Medical Association says that if salt in processed and restaurant food were cut in half over ten years, more 150,000 lives a year could be saved.
