There has been a growing awareness over the years of the association between excessive salt in the diet and hypertension and cardiovascular disease. This has lead to efforts to lower the amount of sodium which is in packaged foods.
The JAMA Network Journals reports that too much sodium in the diet is a risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease which is modifiable. The Institute of Medicine has stated that it is essential to lower sodium which is in packaged foods. However, it has not been clear whether or not sodium which is in packaged foods has changed over the years.
Jennifer M. Poti, Ph.D., who is associated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and coauthors used data which was taken from The Nielsen Company from the 2000 to 2014 Nielsen Homescan Consumer Panel dealing with packaged food and beverage purchases by U.S. households. A barcode scanner was used by members of the households to record their purchases.
A sample of 172,042 U.S. households was taken. The researchers noted that was a decrease in the amount of sodium which households got from packaged food and beverage purchases between 2000 and 2014 by 396 mg/day per capita. This is equivalent to 2,363 mg/day to 1,967 mg/day. Nevertheless, it was observed that less than 2 percent of U.S. households had total packaged food and beverage purchases which had optimal sodium density of 1.1 mg/kcal or less.
This study has been published in JAMA Internal Medicine. It has been concluded by these researchers that the slow rate of decrease in sodium from foods bought in stores has suggested that more concerted sodium lowering efforts are needed in the United States. Clearly on an individual level it is advisable to be very cautious not to consume too much sodium on a daily basis.
