How Much Salt Is Too Much?

Answer:
As our doctors continually tell us, Americans have

way too much salt in our diet. The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that seventy percent of us need to reduce the salt in our diet.

According to recent studies, it has been shown that the average adult consumes one and a half teaspoons of salt every day. This is a half teaspoon more than the daily recommendation of one teaspoon (roughly 2,300 milligrams of sodium). However, the daily intake recommendation is much lower for those over forty, people with high blood pressure, and African Americans. People in these groups should consume no more than two thirds of a teaspoon of salt (roughly 1,500 milligrams of sodium) per day.

Seventy percent of Americans take in as much as 2.3 times the healthy amount of salt, and this can have a major negative impact on our overall health and longevity. When you consume salt, your blood pressure will go up. High blood pressure will dramatically increase your risk of heart attack and stroke. As a result, this greatly increases your risk of heart disease. Most of the salt in our diet comes from processed foods, not from a salt shaker.