Pass On The Salt
If Americans took out just one half teaspoon of salt from their diets each day, an estimated 44,000 to 92,000 lives would be saved each year. That startling statistic came from a recent New York Times article about the benefits of reducing your sodium intake. For years doctors and nutritionists have warned us about the damaging effects of processed foods. Now it seems they have finally determined just how dangerous too much salt can be.
A half teaspoon is equivalent to about 1,200 mg of sodium. Keep this in mind as you read the nutritional information of your favorite foods. Challenge yourself to keep a food journal for one week. Pay close attention to the portion size and the sodium content. By the end of the week you should have a good idea of what your daily intake is. The 
recommended consumption is roughly 1,500 mg, or 2/3 teaspoon. Chances are, your sodium level is much too high if you eat frozen or packed foods, or dine out often. Common sodium giants include pasta, sauces, bread and condiments such as soy sauce.
So what happens if you exceed the limit? Start slow. Salt is a very hard thing for most people to give up. If you drastically change your intake right away, food will taste boring. Begin by eliminating table salt, and reducing the amount you use in recipes. Soup for example, can be changed by cooking it from scratch using low-sodium broth. The prepared canned variety you buy at the grocery store is notorious for a high salt content. You might just be surprised at how salty foods begin to taste once you have completely adjusted.
Whether your vice is craving salty foods or not, this article is definitely worth a look: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/health/nutrition/21salt.html?ref=health. You might just be one of those people saved by this finding.
