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Our addiction to salt is causing up to 17,000 excess cases a year in Canada of stroke, heart attack and heart failure, according to new Canadian research.
University of Calgary and Simon Fraser University researchers say that if Canadians were to cut their sodium intake by more than half to recommended daily levels, there would be 10 to 20 per cent fewer major strokes, heart failure would drop by 10 to 25 per cent and heart attacks by three to seven per cent.
The average Canadian adult consumes approximately 3,500 mg of sodium every day. Lowering that to what the U.S. Institute of Medicine considers an adequate intake for adults - 1,100 to 1,500 mg daily - would mean up to 16,776 fewer cases a year of stroke and heart disease, according to the study to be published Wednesday in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
It enhances sweet tastes, tames bitterness, softens sourness, alters the character of raw product and can even make you sleep better, but Canadian addiction to the product is causing 17,000 extra cases stroke, heart attack and heart failure per year in this country.
"When you're talking up to 17,000 Canadians affected a year, that is a huge number. That's a small town of dead and disabled every year as a result of this issue," says Dr. Norm Campbell, of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta at the University of Calgary. "This, to me, is a national tragedy."
"Dramatic as they are, these figures really are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the health benefits that would arise from reducing the average blood pressure of Canadians," says Kevin Willis, director of partnerships for the Canadian Stroke Network. "High blood pressure is now recognized as being the leading cause of mortality worldwide."
Cardiovascular disease accounts for more deaths, disability and health care costs than any other disease in Canada. Stroke and heart disease accounted for 74,530 deaths in 2002, the most recent data available.
High blood pressure is a leading risk factor, and too much sodium in the diet causes blood vessels to tighten, increasing blood pressure.
Studies suggest "we need less than 500 mg. We are eating at least seven times more, if we are conservative," says co-author Dr. Michel Joffres, a professor in the faculty of health sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
For their study, the researchers estimated how many fewer strokes, acute heart attack and heart failure would occur with a given reduction in blood pressure from sodium reduction.
They calculated that reducing sodium by 1,840 mg per day can prevent up to 11,549 cardiovascular events per year.
About a third of those "events" would be deaths. "About two-thirds of people would live but be disabled," says Campbell. With stroke, "they may not be able to speak, or move an arm or a leg."
Cutting dietary sodium by 2,400 mg a day would result in 16,776 fewer cases of stroke and heart disease.
Cutting salt from the diet may not be as effective as drugs in reducing blood pressure. "But often with drug therapy we're worried about drug toxicity, which is something we don't have to worry about when we're talking about sodium reduction," Campbell says.
About 80 per cent of sodium in the diet comes from salt added to foods during processing. Processed foods contain about 10 times the salt of natural food. "If you look at a fresh tomato versus a canned tomato, you're probably talking about a 300-fold increase in sodium," Campbell says.
People can lower their sodium intake by eating fewer processed, takeout and restaurant foods and more fresh fruits and vegetables, which are naturally low in sodium. Add less salt when cooking and at the table, eventually cutting it out completely.
Avoid salty foods such as potato chips, pickles, bacon, pepperoni, pizza, subs, burgers and hotdogs.
Check nutrition labels and chose those that are low in sodium, meaning no more than 200 mg per serving. Canned vegetables can be washed to reduce sodium content.
Sharon Kirkey, Canwest News Service
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