Program nasional yang bertujuan untuk mengurangkan pengambilan garam akan mengurangkan berpuluh-puluh ribu serangan jantung, strok dan kematian serta mengurangkan kos perubatan negara di Amerika Syarikat sebanyak 24 bilion. Kajian yang menggunakan simulasi komputer menunjukkan bahawa kesannya adalah serupa dengan strategi pencegahan seperti berhenti merokok, menurunkan kolesterol atau penurunan berat badan yang sederhana. Walau bagaimanapun, jika perusahaan pengeluaran makanan tidak mengambil tindakan, adalah sukar untuk mengurangkan pengambilan garam dengan ketara dalam diet oleh individu sahaja.
About 75 percent of the salt intake in the diet comes from processed foods, the researchers said. More and more studies have shown that reducing salt intake in the diet is an effective weapon against hypertension and cardiovascular disease, which further enriches these studies. "It's time to take action to reduce salt intake across society," said Kirsten bibbins Domingo, the study's lead author and associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
Morton Satan, technical director of the American Salt Association, said there were few data showing a link between salt intake and disease. He questioned the obvious health benefits of reducing salt intake. Americans' daily salt intake is much higher than the recommended daily salt intake. An average American adult male consumes more than 10 grams of salt a day. On January 20, the American Heart Association released new guidelines calling on all Americans to reduce their daily sodium intake - sodium is the main component of salt - to 1500 mg, equivalent to 3.8 grams of salt.
Previously, this was the recommended intake limit for high-risk people; The regular intake limit was originally 2300 mg of sodium, or 5.8 mg of salt. In a computer simulation that included data from the U.S. Census, the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, and other national studies, Dr. bibbins Domingo and her colleagues estimated the impact of a small reduction in Americans' daily salt intake - up to 3 mg a day - on adults aged 35 and over.
