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FDA wants to cut sodium in packaged and processed foods by about 20%

The agency wants to lower how much salt we consume over the next three years to an average of 2,750 milligrams per day. That’s still above the recommended limit of 2,300 mg.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday laid out fresh goals to cut sodium levels in packaged and processed foods by about 20%, after its prior efforts to address a growing epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases showed early signs of success.

The FDA in October 2021 had set guidelines to trim sodium levels in foods ranging from potato chips to hamburgers in a bid to prevent excessive intake of salt that can trigger high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

The agency is now seeking voluntary curbs from packaged-food makers such as PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz and Campbell Soup. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

hark ,
@hark@lemmy.world avatar

Homing in on a single number at a time is like plugging one leak and having another spring up. The laser focus on reducing fat, for example, led to foods using more salt and sugar to compensate and that created other problems. We need a more holistic approach to diet.

stoly ,

The 1980s was a time of great over reporting of unfinished science. From there through the 1990s was a nonstop mood swing over what was good or bad for you.

hark ,
@hark@lemmy.world avatar

Doesn’t seem like much has changed since then.

stoly ,

I think you’re right, thematically. But we also know a heck of a lot more about all this than we did back then. Much more settled science compared to anecdote or conjecture.

Vespair ,

And in the 80s they felt confident what they knew was a heck of a lot more than what was known in the 40s, probably would even have argued it was much more settled science compared to the anecdote and conjecture of yore.

Personally I am of the opinion that for all our knowledge there is still vastly more we don’t know than do, and that we should always try to be mindful of possible ignorance and “of-the-time-ness” of our knowledge in all things.

stoly ,

You’d have been correct then too! But I do think that things are different still. In the late 1970s, medical journals went from anecdote based to evidence based publishing. That surely took time to have an effect and now research physicians are rigorous professional scientists. I’m suggesting that the base is elevated compared to then.

dan00 ,

Are people still buying this disgusting trash? Wow.

revlayle ,

NO

(As I devour half a bag of family sized Lays)

NOT ME

stoly ,

Remember that the aggregate across food sources is the problem. You’re getting too much from all over. This is at least a step towards fixing the bigger problem.

AnUnusualRelic ,
@AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world avatar

Sigh, ok.

Tell the intern to order three more semis of corn syrup.

nutsack ,

I don’t know who the fuck is eating this garbage but I think whoever they are does not care about sodium

MediaSensationalism ,
@MediaSensationalism@lemmy.world avatar

I was frustrated by the lack of low sodium options in processed foods before I cut them out entirely.

theneverfox ,
@theneverfox@pawb.social avatar

Who cares about sodium, can we get rid of high fructose corn syrup? I mean reducing sodium sounds good, but it’s not even on the same playing field

n3m37h ,

Also stuff like sodium nitrate and other fantastic chemicals that make food last for 100’s of years

A_Random_Idiot ,

How else are we gonna ensure a stable supply of post-fallout Mac & Cheese, InstaMash, Salisbury Steak, and Cheezy Poofs?

brianary ,

The risks of sodium aren’t universal (some people appear to have immunity), and were exaggerated by the sugar industry.

Reyali ,

THIS! My cardiologist has instructed me to eat 7-10 grams of salt a day. He literally encouraged me to eat things like chips, pretzels, pickles, salted nuts, and ramen to get more.

I supplement with electrolyte mixes with 1g sodium. They cost over $1 each and I am supposed to drink 2-3 a day. I still don’t get enough salt to feel my best.

It’s fucking obnoxious to have health conditions that mean I need a thing that so much of the world tells me is bad, and everyone else is trying to get rid of.

kandoh ,

Just let me die fat, you bastards

thejoker954 ,

Thats great, but can we do high fructose corn syrup next? That shit is just evil on multiple levels.

buzz86us ,

great hopefully next they reduce plastic by 100%

chimasterflex ,

or at least ban things like styrofoam

buzz86us ,

Sorry I can’t say I need my food packaging to last thousands of years

Tlaloc_Temporal ,
@Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca avatar

We’re lucky if styrofoam lasts the week, and when it breaks it gets everywhere. Hard plastic would be an improvement in every way.

dan ,
@dan@upvote.au avatar

Already banned in some areas. I haven’t seen Styrofoam food packaging in a long time.

count_dongulus ,

No, not my salt and vinegar kettle chips! 😭

DragonTypeWyvern ,

Too bad, they’re vinegar and salt now!

dan ,
@dan@upvote.au avatar

Sea salt flavor is now just sea flavor.

GraniteM ,

I feel like I recall a story about a chip company that slowly reduced their salt content by like 50% over a number of years and literally no one noticed or complained.

I definitely saw another story about how they were researching pyramid-shaped salt crystals because they have higher surface area to volume, and with cuboid salt you wind up swallowing it before the whole thing even dissolves, so you’re not even getting a theoretical flavor experience, it’s just going straight into your gut.

We eat too much salt. It’s absurd.

SupraMario ,

Salt is not an issue if you’re healthy and drink enough water. Our problem is we’re not healthy and don’t drink enough water…we eat chips and drink coke with it.

lennybird ,
@lennybird@lemmy.world avatar

I’d caveat it’s not unhealthy if you sweat a lot, drink lots of water, AND consume a level of dietary potassium 2x that of your sodium intake, which pretty much nobody is. (and disclaimer I’m no doctor).

Sodium and potassium work together with opposite functions via the sodium-potassium pump. Too much salt leads to water retention within cells. That’s the best case scenario so long as you’re drinking lots of water. Too much salt absent of potassium will send blood pressure up due to vasoconstriction.

Potassium helps the body regulate fluid retention and helps to concentrate urine while helping with vasodilation of blood vessels (among many other important functions).

Just learning all this as I’ve taken a deep-dive on this stuff for my own health as well as my mom’s.

AA5B ,

I’ve read this a lot but have no idea how to increase potassium. There’s only so many bananas you can eat and clearly one every day is not enough

Even if there’s a salt substitute with potassium, I’m not sure the point when there’s no problem with salt you intentionally add. Especially since I rarely do

lennybird ,
@lennybird@lemmy.world avatar

Getting large amounts of potassium is definitely tough, and for me it basically comes down to eating a lot of green salads, potato, banana, and coconut water.

I confess I’ll also add some potassium citrate to my water here and there to get a little more. But I don’t advise that unless you know what you’re doing.

Dozzi92 ,
@Dozzi92@lemmy.world avatar

I drink like 8L of water a day, run four days a week, but I am confident that Ruffles are going to be the death of me, they’re just too good to care about the years at the end of my life.

SupraMario ,

Dill pickle lays here… I feel your pain

AlecSadler ,

Can confirm, source: I eat ~7000mgs/day

queermunist ,
@queermunist@lemmy.ml avatar

cries in spironolactone

AlligatorBlizzard ,

Embrace tradition, eat an entire jar of pickles in one sitting.

queermunist ,
@queermunist@lemmy.ml avatar

I dust pickled jalapenos with flour and airfry/broil them 👍

Lucidlethargy ,

This is so dumb. You can’t fix this problem at the packaging level. You have to convince people to eat less, or eat smarter.

SkyeStarfall ,

You definitively can fix many things at the product level

Food in Europe is generally less bad for you due to regulations

Viking_Hippie ,

They’ll up the chloride content by 40% to compensate, though.

homura1650 , (edited )

Unironically, yes. A common substitute for table salt (sodium chloride NaCl) is potassium salt (potassium chloride KCl).

The good news is that the health problems with table salt is the sodium, not the chloride. Potassium actually has the opposite effect on the body, so a higher potassium intake would actually help treat a high sodium intake.

GluWu ,

Fun fact: potassium chloride is what the United States has primarily used in lethal injection which has been used to execute 1400 people since 1976.

greenskye ,

I’m absolutely going to hear some Karen later repeat this fact as a reason to protest against ‘government crackdowns on salt’ or something, aren’t I?

Samvega ,

“Swimming pools are bad! They’re full of water, which LESBIAN TERRORISTS use to DROWN CHRISTIANS!”

postmateDumbass ,

They are killing our roads!

buddascrayon ,

It’s also what we use to salt our roads.

postmateDumbass ,

I bet they just put 20% less food in the package.

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