The War on Salt

Hour 2

Americans consume on average 1 ½ teaspoons of salt a day – that’s more than twice the amount that we should be eating. Most of it comes from processed and restaurant food. High sodium intake has been linked to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. In fact, the American Medical Association has said that has many as 150,000 lives could be saved if Americans cut their salt intake in half. Last week the Institute of Medicine released a report outlining strategies for reducing salt intake, including urging the government to set limits in salt levels in food. This hour, we’ll examine our taste for salty food and look at ways to lower our salt intake. Our guests are Gary Beauchamp, director of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, Lawrence Appel, professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University, and Krista Faron, a marketing analyst with Mintel International.

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[audio: 042810_110630.mp3]