Daily HealthBeat Tip

More than a grain of salt

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I�m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

People with high blood pressure are often told to cut back on sodium. Mostly, we know that as salt � sodium chloride.

But cutting back isn�t easy.

Dr. Umed Ajani of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined data on about 4,000 people. His study was in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

People with high blood pressure got about 300 milligrams a day less sodium than people with normal blood pressure. But both groups got way too much.

Dr. Ajani says folks should check with doctors for how much sodium to consume, and read the Nutrition Facts panels on food packages:

"They can look at the labels. This information about sodium is provided on the labels. They can see what they are taking." (six seconds)

It might be, for instance, in the flavor enhancer MSG � monosodium glutamate.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: January 23, 2005

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