Thread: Cutting salt intake would save $18B a year in health costs

Cutting salt intake would save $18B a year in health costs

Posted 6m ago
By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

If Americans would cut their sodium intake to the level recommended by health and nutrition experts, the country would save about $18 billion in annual health care costs and quality of life would improve for millions of people, says a Rand Corp. study. The estimated value of improved quality of life (living healthier longer): $32 billion annually.
About a third of adults have hypertension, and one reason that it's so common is that sodium consumption is so high, says Roland Sturm, a senior economist for the Rand Corp and one of the authors on the study which appears in the September/October issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion. It estimates that meeting national sodium guidelines could eliminate 11 million cases of high blood pressure and extend the lives of thousands of people each year.

Current guidelines suggest that most adults consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day with lower amounts advised for seniors, black patients and those with high blood pressure. Some estimates suggest that the Americans consume an average of 3,400 milligrams or more of sodium a day. About three-quarters of sodium intake comes from processed foods, another 10% to 15% from the salt shaker and the rest occurs naturally in food, Sturm says.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/200 ... sure_N.htm

If Obama reads this, there will be a new tax.....ON SALT!!!!