What FDA’s new sodium guidelines could look like in practice

With nine out of 10 U.S. adults and children consuming too much sodium, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released draft proposed voluntary guidelines to encourage companies to significantly reduce sodium in processed and restaurant foods by 2020. Some of the recommended changes may be eye-opening for patients who don’t closely monitor their sodium intake. The need to decrease sodium consumption High sodium intake has a direct correlation to high blood pressure, which leads to heart disease and stroke—the most common causes of death in the U.S., contributing to more than 1,000 deaths per day. “There is strong evidence, including a recent analysis of more than 100 randomized clinical trials, that sodium reduction reduces blood pressure in adults,” Thomas R. Frieden, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a JAMA Viewpoint. “Excess dietary sodium intake may adversely affect the heart, kidneys, brain and blood vessels.” The proposed guidelines set short- and long-term goals for a gradual reduction in sodium for both manufactured and restaurant products and should lead to a sustained reduction in the amount of sodium added to the food supply before foods reach consumers’ hands, he said. Dr. Frieden cited several problems with excess sodium in America: More than 70 percent of sodium consumed is in food products before they reach the table. Reducing sodium intake by 1,200 mg per day may reduce the n...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news