Un programa nacional destinado a reducir el consumo de sal reducirá decenas de miles de ataques cardíacos, accidentes cerebrovasculares y muertes y reducirá los costos médicos nacionales en los Estados Unidos en 24 mil millones. El estudio, que utilizó simulaciones por ordenador, mostró que el efecto era similar al de estrategias preventivas como dejar de fumar, reducir el colesterol o perder peso de forma moderada. Sin embargo, si las empresas de producción de alimentos no toman medidas, es difícil reducir significativamente el consumo de sal en la dieta de los individuos por sí solos.
About 75 percent of the salt intake in the diet comes from processed foods, the researchers said. More and more studies have shown that reducing salt intake in the diet is an effective weapon against hypertension and cardiovascular disease, which further enriches these studies. "It's time to take action to reduce salt intake across society," said Kirsten bibbins Domingo, the study's lead author and associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Morton Satan, technical director of the American Salt Association, said there were few data showing a link between salt intake and disease. He questioned the obvious health benefits of reducing salt intake. Americans' daily salt intake is much higher than the recommended daily salt intake. An average American adult male consumes more than 10 grams of salt a day. On January 20, the American Heart Association released new guidelines calling on all Americans to reduce their daily sodium intake - sodium is the main component of salt - to 1500 mg, equivalent to 3.8 grams of salt.
Previously, this was the recommended intake limit for high-risk people; The regular intake limit was originally 2300 mg of sodium, or 5.8 mg of salt. In a computer simulation that included data from the U.S. Census, the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, and other national studies, Dr. bibbins Domingo and her colleagues estimated the impact of a small reduction in Americans' daily salt intake - up to 3 mg a day - on adults aged 35 and over.
