Halt the salt
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Consume too much sodium for long enough, and blood pressure may rise to levels that raise the risk of heart disease and stroke. Americans consume about 3,300 milligrams of sodium a day. The federal recommendation is that people lower consumption to 2,300 milligrams a day, which is about 1 teaspoon of salt. And for some people to further reduce intake to 1,500 milligrams/day.
Janelle Gunn is at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
"Most everyone benefits from lowering their sodium intake. But there are a few groups, African-Americans, persons with hypertension, chronic kidney disease and diabetes, and those 51 and older, who have even greater benefit from lowering sodium." (13 seconds)
A common misconception: We get all of our sodium from the home salt shaker.
"It's important for people to look at nutrition labels, and choose products that are lower in sodium." (4 seconds)