February 15, 2010

Salt a sneaky health threat in food

By Kelley Luckstein

For dinner tonight, you've planned what you think is a nice, healthful meal for your family: seasoned grilled salmon, asparagus tossed with feta cheese, and prepackaged long-grain wild rice…

 

But there is also something lurking there you hadn't banked on, thanks mainly to the seasoning, cheese and rice: nearly 1,600 milligrams of sodium, or almost 70 percent of the maximum daily allowance…few people check the sodium number, public-health experts say…

 

Sodium is a component of common table salt, or sodium chloride, which has many uses, including as a preservative and flavor enhancer. Salt is essential to the human body because it helps ensure normal function of cells and organs, including the nerves, muscles, brain and heart, said Dr. Farouk Mookadam, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist.

Arizona Republic, by Ginger Rough, 2/14/2010

Tags: Cancer, Dr. Farouk Mookadam, Mayo Clinic Arizona, sodium

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