Apr. 29--Americans can't seem to shake the salt habit.
But that's not always because they're going heavy on the shaker.
The latest studies pin most of the blame on food manufacturers and restaurants that supply an estimated 77 percent of the salt in our diets.
That's why the Institute of Medicine urged the Food and Drug Administration last week to crack down on industry with regulations that would reduce the levels of salt in their products and make it easier for Americans to stop consuming twice as much salt as they're supposed to each day.
The institute report cited studies that show 100,000 deaths could be prevented annually through a populationwide reduction in sodium consumption. But "without major change, hypertension and cardiovascular disease rates will continue to rise, and consumers will pay the price for inaction," it warned.
Although the FDA has the authority to regulate salt as a food additive, the condiment is "generally recognized as safe" and not subject to regulatory limits. "But studies connecting high intakes of sodium to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and other debilitating and deadly conditions show that salt is only safe up to a certain amount," the report noted.
The Tribune recently examined the salt levels at some of the nation's busiest restaurant chains. The menus featured some eye-poppingly high-sodium dishes -- one entree supplied enough salt for four days -- but they also offered some sounder choices that are detailed below.
As Americans have increasingly turned to processed convenience foods and restaurant meals, our tolerance and desire for salt has risen. And it hasn't helped that processed food has become saltier over the years, according to the IOM. But why is there so much salt in processed and restaurant food to begin with?
"Salt is cheap and it does a lot more to enhance food than simply adding a salty flavor," said Leslie Stein, a research associate at the Monell Center, an independent institute that studies taste and smell. "It acts as a binder, it creates a desirable mouth feel, suppresses bitterness and brings out sweetness."
Despite these benefits, this week some of the nation's biggest food companies pledged to cut their salt content as part of the National Salt Reduction Initiative, spearheaded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The initiative aims to reduce salt in packaged and restaurant foods by 25 percent by 2014.
Until then, you can navigate the salt maze with the following briny facts and sodium-reducing tips.
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