Looking at low salt in a recession

In the middle of a recession, everyone is looking for ways to cut costs. People have cut travel, luxury, and entertainment budgets. But what about the costs of eating too much salt? One recent study showed that low salt meals could actually save Americans between $18 and $32 billion dollars per year in health care costs.

The health benefits of a low salt diet

According to the study, reported in the American Journal of Health Promotion, the average American eater consumes about 3,400 milligrams of salt per day . That’s 1,000 more milligrams of salt than the Food and Drug Administration recommends, and about 2,000 milligrams more than many nutritionists would like.

While there is no evidence that eating too much salt leads directly to any health benefits, a low salt diet does lead to lower blood pressure. And lower blood pressure definitely leads to lower occurrences of related problems like stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, and more.

Low salt diets save lives, reduce medical expenses

In 2005, The Center for Science in the Public Interest released “Salt: The Forgotten Killer,” showing how they come to the conclusion that salt kills 150,000 people per year, thanks to those maladies listed above. And, according to the RAND Corporation, those that don’t die from the problems contribute around $18 billion to national medical expenses.

So, getting your salt consumption under control can save your life or cut costly medical bills. One has to wonder what will happen to insurance premiums, if we can reduce the occurrence of stroke, heart disease, etc.

Three steps to low salt diet success

Check labels Look on each label for the sodium content, and remember that adding salt from the table shaker counts. Keep salt consumption at 2,400 milligrams, or less, daily. Rinse thoroughly If you eat from cans, as many of us do right now, rinse your veggies with cold water before using them, reducing their sodium content by about half. Choose other flavors I know, I know, salt makes things taste good. But use just a little bit, then add other cheap flavoring like pepper or garlic.