Putting away the salt shaker

The AMA is backing a new set of recommendations to reduce sodium intake and improve health.

Editorial. Aug. 28, 2006.

Watch the salt!

It's an admonition that is not all that new. As a matter of fact, you likely repeat it to your patients many times a day.

What is new, though, is that the AMA House of Delegates endorsed during its Annual Meeting in June a set of recommendations to strengthen this plea by calling on the food and restaurant industries, as well as government regulators, to join forces to reduce the nation's collective salt intake.

The AMA has in the past called for reductions of sodium in processed foods. But this is the first time it has made such specific asks. It's a position that represents an amplification of long-standing worries that surround the link between sodium consumption and hypertension, which, ultimately, can lead to cardiovascular and kidney disease. It is also a timely step forward in efforts to curb one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States.

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, roughly 30% of U.S. adults have hypertension. In addition, more than 910,000 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each year.

Salt and sodium intake, of course, contribute to these staggering numbers. A Council on Science and Public Health report on the subject released at the June meeting concluded that, across populations, the level of blood pressure, its incremental increase with age, and the prevalence of hypertension are all related to salt intake.

Additionally, the council notes that the need to limit sodium intake to less than 2.4 grams daily, an amount equivalent to 6 grams of salt, is agreed upon by many scientific organizations and governmental agencies as a means to address this risk. However, a 2004 Institute of Medicine report found that 95% of men and 75% of women regularly surpass this upper limit of salt intake.