Nutrition and healthy eating

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• February 28, 2013 7:35 a.m.

  In an article entitled Shaking the salt habit I expected to see some advice on how to perk up food without salt. Nada.

  - j

• February 13, 2013 3:27 p.m.

  I love snacking on pretzels but have had to give them up because of the salt. I would think it would be a good selling point for the mfg'r to offer salt-free pretzels and other low calorie snacks. They'd probably see their sales increase.

  - B.J.

• February 11, 2013 1:10 p.m.

  Yes . The salt content has to be reduced. people in general should get used to less salt food, so that all can live with better health. Food manufacturers and restaurants should all be regulated.

  - Srinath

• January 30, 2013 10:08 p.m.

  It is a shame that so many otherwise intelligent people in this country need the government to regulate their entire lives and tell them what to do. Do not want salt in your food? Simple!!! Do not buy things with salt as the primary ingredient like canned soups and vegetables and other prepared foods. READ THE LABELS. Buy salt substitute and use it if you have to have a salty taste in your food. Take it with you when you go out to eat. Do not want salt in your food in restaurants? Simple!! Just ask the waiter to prepare your food without salt. THEY WILL DO IT. Eat only in restaurants that will do that for you. All you have to do is ask. We do it all the time. Do not be a total wimp. Take responsibility for your own health and well being. You are an educated, self sufficient, and free American. Act like one. There are people who want to enslave you and make you think you are a stupid, totally dependent, worthless individual. Do not let them. You do not need a government bureaucrat telling you what to do every minute of the day. Or maybe you do. Look at how we voted in the last election.

  - MadJayhawk

• January 26, 2013 11:10 a.m.

  I would love to see salt regulated in canned food and also in restaurants. I have Kidney problems and my husband has a heart problem so we sure could use some help.

  - Ann

• November 28, 2012 5:34 a.m.

  Freedom to choose. Put the numbers on the package and butt out.

  - Jim

• October 25, 2012 12:08 p.m.

  I am shocked to see so any people against a health regulation. It makes no sense. They're not taking your salt, just give people an equal right to choose how much. I wonder if they have anything against regulating rat feces or hairs or the whole rat. There are too many people eager to be offended on any rediculous issues in this country.

  - Tony

• October 15, 2012 9:20 a.m.

  I am not in favor of government regulation of salt content; I think it is just one more way our people become dependent on the government rather than thinking for ourselves and taking responsibility for our own well-being. I do think nutrition facts should be readily available in restaurants and staff should be better informed of the importance of the amounts of ingredients used in the foods they cook and serve. Yesterday, after reading the nutrition facts in a McDonald's, I asked if anything on the menu was considered heart healthy. They just looked at me, then asked a manager. The patron behind me said the grilled chicken would be, but the sodium content of that seemed pretty high to me, too. This weekend, the mom of an allergic child gave specific directions of what she wanted to purchase to make her son's food safe for him to eat; the person making his food made little jokes while preparing it and served it with ribbing on the side. People in general do not understand the importance of what we eat and, therefore, what they serve. These days, noone can afford not to be a label reader.

  - Jan

• September 28, 2012 9:52 p.m.

  a low sodium diet should be recommended for everyone regardless of race or ethnicity. I worked as a medical assistant in a hospital where more caucasians had hypertension and were on more than one high blood pressure pill Okay!

  - Chelsey

• July 25, 2012 12:39 p.m.

  I am not in favor of more regulation that says we can't do this we can't do that. I would be in favor of strict guidelines regarding labeling so "the people" can make informed choices. Over regulating people just says "we are not smart enough to make our own decisions/choices". I believe we can make healthy choices with the right information.

  - Cynthia

• April 20, 2012 10:28 a.m.

  Absolutely let people add salt if they choose but why punish everyone else if they dont need all that salt? You can add salt if the food isn't salty enough for you, but you can't remove whats there if its too much to be healthy for others!!! That's like turning the heat up high if you are cold when others are really hot!! Turn temperature on normal,let cold folks wear a wrap or coat and the hot person wear fewer clothes! You can't take off enough clothes to be cool in a hot house or car!!!!

  - Rita

• March 7, 2012 11:36 a.m.

  I am also opposed to additional governmental regulations. I actually have low blood pressure and salt everything I eat. Why should those of us who enjoy salt (and the flavor it adds) be subjected to tastless food because some people can't take responsibility for their choices? I'm all for including the salt amounts on menus, but having the government regulate how much can be used is ridiculous. This isn't the governments job!

  - Nicole

• February 25, 2012 9:53 a.m.

  I am absolutely oppossed to any additional regulations by the government. People need to take individual resposibility, not have the government monitor and control every aspect of our lives.

  - Heather

• February 14, 2012 4:06 p.m.

  Full disclosure of sodium content in all prepared food sold should be mandatory!In order to make an informed decision.

  - Kris

• January 28, 2012 6:50 p.m.

  I need to maintain a diet with under 1500 mg of sodium/day and am living well with heart failure because I do. But, it is so difficult to shop and/or eat out because of the large amounts of salt added to everything. There are salt shakers on every restaurant table -- let people salt their own food after it arrives if that's what they wish. Even foods marked "low sodium" in the grocery most times have more than 1/2 my daily allowance in one serving. There is no need for that. Young children aren't able to determine and choose and by the time they can, they are already habituated to a high taste for salt. I've written food manufacturers and called grocers to NO avail!

  - laurali

• January 5, 2012 12:07 a.m.

  Over 70 percent of daily sodium intake comes from processed, pre-packaged, and prepared foods. Only about five percent of daily sodium intake comes from salt added to properly season food that is freshly cooked Even if you add salt at the table, this makes up only about six percent of daily intake Another 10 percent (roughly) is inherent in food itself. The government's own recommendations (PDF) note that the hypertensive effect of excess sodium consumption is manifest at levels above six grams per day. The previous federally recommended amount of daily sodium consumption was around a teaspoon, about 2.3 grams. The current recommendations are for 1.5 grams daily. The average American currently consumes around 3.4 grams of sodium per day. The governmental recommendations are predicated on the assumption that the "taste for sodium is acquired and can be modified" (PDF). The reason sodium and chloride (the constituents of what we refer to as 'salt') are classified as essential minerals is that we require them to live. We are physiologically programmed, like a gazelle on the Serengeti, to seek out and consume salt should we not get a sufficient amount in our diet. It is hardly an acquired taste like caviar or country music. Additionally, the government asserts that since "consuming less salt or sodium is not harmful, it is understandable why the Federal Government recommends that healthy normal individuals moderate their salt and sodium intake." The only prob

  - Bruce

• January 5, 2012 12:03 a.m.

  Don't Hold the Salt: Attempts to Curb Sodium Intake Are Misguided By Michael S. Fenster The FDA is working to limit the amount of salt used and served by restaurants, but not only will that not help us, it might actually do harm. The government and specifically the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been mulling over legislation that would regulate the amount of salt used and served by restaurants, following a recommendation by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2010. Now, being a physician and being against sodium reduction is like being a member of PETA and entering the Nathan's hot dog eating contest-and winning. It is generally frowned upon. In addition to pursuing this regulatory intervention, the government, along with several medical professional societies, recently launched the Million Hearts initiative. This program, paid in part with tax dollars, aims to reduce heart attacks in the U.S. by one million. But the ends do not always justify the means, no matter how noble and good the intentions. A main goal of that program is to reduce sodium consumption by 20 percent. This mandate might be debatable if the evidence between current amounts of sodium consumption and an increased risk of morbidity and mortality was incontrovertible. It is not. It remains at present inconclusive. The theory is based on the observation that increased sodium intake is associated with an increase in blood pressure. It is in a modest way. It is widely preached that hypertension is a

  - Bruce

• December 27, 2011 12:01 a.m.

  Providing foods without salt would greatly increase buying such foods. There exist a whole market of people who for high blood pressure reasons must have their salt intake restricted. If food companies and food manufacturers were smart, they would tap into this market and cash in.There is no reason why canned products must be "salt only." As it stands now, they are losing tons of revenue due to not providing this large market of salt restricted individuals with canned products that are SALT FREE!

  - Abe

• December 15, 2011 1:24 a.m.

  I find I am salt sensitive. If I get more than 1800 mgs of salt a day, I put on 10 lbs of water, have pain in my right side between my ribs and hip. It takes me over a week, usually to shed the 10 lbs. I have hydronephrosis. My urologist says there is no connection with that and salt intake, but I think there is. My bloodpressure seems to be normal. Fortunately, I do most of my own cooking and can usually control the salt I eat. The problem starts when I have to eat out. One big dose of salt can make me suffer for over a week.

  - Valrita

• October 31, 2011 4:35 p.m.

  I should not eat any salt. My problem is that I have been having a terrible time finding receipes without salt. Can you help?

  - Marlene

• October 25, 2011 10:13 p.m.

  October 25, 2011 I cook and use it in my cooking and most times I salt it after it's cooked. I have perfect blood pressue, thankfully, on the low side. I don't eat out very often or cook frozen dinners. Most of the time restaurant food needs salt. Food cooked without salt is tasteless. However,canned soups and many other foods have an overabundance of salt and these companies should take drastic measures to cut the salt content in half. Sugar is another ingredient that is overused.

  - Ruth

• October 7, 2011 9:41 p.m.

  I do not eat a lot of processed foods and limit our family's restaurant visits. However, sometimes I am a captive audience with little choices with travel. I would choose more restaurants with lower salt in their menu in a heartbeat!

  - BusyMom

• October 7, 2011 3:02 p.m.

  I have recently had a stroke. Luckily with no obvious side effects. I now watch my salt very strictly. I am in favor of legislation to reduce salt in restaurants and pe-packaged foods. We need a great deal more education on the effects of salt in our dies.

  - Marilyn

• August 31, 2011 12:39 p.m.

  Would cheer lower sodium in all foods. I am fanatic about avoiding salt, I cook with almost no salt and never add salt to soup except for potato. Avoid processed foods to avoid salt. Like sugar once you stop eating salt you don't even miss it.

  - Marianne

• August 31, 2011 12:38 p.m.

  Would cheer lower sodium in all foods. I am fanatic about avoiding salt, I cook with almost no salt and never add salt to soup except for potato. Avoid processed foods to avoid salt. Like sugar once you stop eating salt you don't even miss it.

  - Marianne