By the Numbers: Shake the Salt Habit

• 2/3 teaspoon of salt is 1,500 mg sodium (daily amount recommended by the American Heart Association)
  
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt is 3,400 mg sodium (daily amount the average American eats)
  
  
• 8-12 weeks: How long it generally takes for people’s tastes to change. If you gradually add smaller amounts of salt to your food and eat fewer salty foods, your tastes will adapt to enjoying a less salty flavor.
  
  
• 1 in 3 Americans has high blood pressure. High-sodium diets are linked to an increase in blood pressure and a higher risk for heart disease and stroke. Eating less sodium may help you lower your high blood pressure or prevent it from developing in the first place. Too much sodium also makes your body get rid of more calcium in your urine. When your body loses calcium, your risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures is higher.
  
  
• 25% of the sodium you eat each day comes from the salt shaker. Table salt, a.k.a. sodium chloride, is 40% sodium and 60% chloride.
  
  
• 75% is already in the processed and prepared food you eat. Read the Nutrition Facts labels on the foods you eat so you know how much sodium you’re getting. And remember, fresh foods are lower in sodium than prepared foods.
  
  
• Low Sodium—Naturally:
• 1 apple (0 mg
• 1 banana (1 mg)
• 1 cup brown rice (10 mg)
• 1/2 cup of raw carrots (20 mg)
• 3 oz salmon (56 mg)
• 1/2 chicken breast (64 mg)
• High Sodium Culprits:
  • 1 cup of canned vegetable juice cocktail (658 mg)
  • 1 cup of canned beef stew (947 mg)
  • 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (1,005 mg)
  • 1 fast-food egg and cheese biscuit (1,250 mg)
  • 1 large dill pickle (1,700 mg)
• Major sources of sodium: tomato sauce, canned soups, condiments, canned foods and prepared mixes

Sources: American Heart Association, Center for Science in the Public Interest, National Institutes of Health, New England Journal of Medicine, University of Maine Cooperative Extension