sodium

18 Stories

Your Food Packaging May Soon Come With a Warning Label

FDA hopes to add warnings signaling high levels of sodium, saturated fat, added sugars

(Newser) - "Eating patterns in the US do not align with federal dietary recommendations." That's per a recent proclamation by the Food and Drug Administration, which warns we're a nation facing "an ever-growing epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity." One...

Consumer Reports: Lunchables Unsafe for School Lunch

14K sign petition calling for their removal from school lunch program

(Newser) - Lunchables contain lead and unhealthy levels of sodium, according to testing by Consumer Reports , which has launched a petition urging the Department of Agriculture to remove the snack kits from the school meal program it oversees. Two versions of the Kraft Heinz kits were made available last year as part...

FDA Issues New Guidelines on Salt
FDA Issues New
Guidelines on Salt
Oct 13, 2021 9:35 AM CDT

FDA Issues New Guidelines on Salt

The target is lower, but not yet at the recommended level

(Newser) - Food companies are coming under renewed pressure to use less salt after US regulators spelled out long-awaited guidelines aimed at reducing sodium levels in dozens of foods, from chain restaurant meals to chips, cereal, and baby food. The voluntary goals finalized Wednesday for 163 foods are intended to help lower...

Docs Warn Against Herbal 'Detox' That Sent Woman to ER

Medley of herbs resulted in severe hyponatremia

(Newser) - After a woman wound up in the hospital in the UK last year after ingesting a medley of herbs for a New Year's "detox," doctors are issuing a warning: There is such a thing as too much water, and people need to be careful with supplements, even...

Food Giant's Unusual Advice: Eat This Less Often

Mars to add 'occasional' label to some sauces

(Newser) - Industry giant Mars Food is out with an unusual suggestion: It wants people to cut back on its pasta sauces. The company says its Dolmio sauces, Uncle Ben's oriental sauces, and some other products containing high levels of salt, sugar, or fat should be consumed only once a week...

America's Nutrition Guidelines Take a Mediterranean Shift

Also, coffee gets a boost, and there's a shift in cholesterol thinking

(Newser) - You can relax your grip on that cup of java: "Moderate coffee consumption" can be part of a healthy diet, according to new federal dietary guidelines released Thursday. In fact, three to five cups is apparently just fine, notes the Los Angeles Times . The guidelines emphasize veggies, fruits, and...

NYC Pushing for High-Salt Warnings in Chain Eateries

Would be first US city to make restaurants dish on what meals are high sodium

(Newser) - Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg first took on Big Salt by setting up the National Salt Reduction Initiative , which encourages restaurants and food manufacturers to voluntarily reduce the sodium found in their fare. Now current Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration is getting into the act: The city's Department...

Researchers: Yes, You Do Eat Too Much Salt

As two other studies counter: Salt? No big deal

(Newser) - Whether due to a love of processed food or soy sauce, almost every adult on the planet likes salt way too much—on average, we consume almost double the amount of sodium recommended by the World Health Organization, a new study finds. Think that's no big deal? Well, researchers...

Study: No Need to Dramatically Cut Salt

Consuming ultra-low levels may actually do more harm than good

(Newser) - Go easy on the salt, but not too easy. That's the surprising finding of a new study from the prestigious Institute of Medicine, reports the New York Times . The report concluded that people who follow the advice of groups such as the American Heart Association and limit intake to...

Salt Causes 10% of America's Deaths
 Salt Causes 10% 
 of America's 
 Deaths 
study says
Mar 22, 2013 7:43 AM CDT

Salt Causes 10% of America's Deaths

Excess sodium contributed to 2.3M deaths in 2010: study

(Newser) - Just when you thought sugar was the leading health villain, along comes salt. Sugary drinks may have contributed to 180,000 deaths around the globe in 2010, but excessive salt consumption caused 2.3 million deaths that year, according to a new study by the American Heart Association. Some key...

No. 1 Source of Salt in Our Diet Isn't Chips ... It's Bread

On list of top sodium sources, salty junk food comes in a distant No. 10

(Newser) - If you had to bet $5 on whether more salt in your diet came from bread or chips, you'd probably be out five bucks. Potato chips, pretzels, and popcorn actually rank a distant No. 10 on the CDC's list of the top 10 sources of sodium, released yesterday....

Wait, Salt's Not So Bad Now?
 Wait, Salt's Not So Bad Now? 
study says
May 4, 2011 2:10 PM CDT

Wait, Salt's Not So Bad Now?

New study defies conventional wisdom, but experts not convinced

(Newser) - In a world with constantly changing nutritional guidelines (eggs are bad for you; no, they're good for you! ), one food has seemed to be consistently maligned: salt. But a new, and highly contested, study finds that low-salt diets do not prevent high blood pressure—and actually increase the...

Worst Restaurant Belt-Busters
 Worst Restaurant Belt-Busters 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
May 30, 2010 5:27 PM CDT

Worst Restaurant Belt-Busters

Consumer group issues its annual list

(Newser) - The Center for Science in the Public Interest has released its annual list of calorie bombs available at chain restaurants. Among the winners of the "Xtreme Eating Awards":
  • Cheesecake Factory's Pasta Carbonara with Chicken: 2,500 calories and 85 grams of saturated fat.
  • Five Guys Bacon Cheeseburger: 920 calories
...

NYC Launches Campaign to Cut Salt

National effort targets packaged and restaurant food

(Newser) - New York City will today launch a national effort to cut the amount of salt in packaged and restaurant foods by 25% over five years. The plan asks food companies to make incremental reductions on a voluntary basis to help fight high blood pressure. But unlike Mayor Michael Bloomberg's obesity...

Denny's Sued Over Salty Food

(Newser) - A consumer activist group is taking Denny's to court over the "dangerously high" salt levels in the restaurant chain's food, Reuters reports. The suit, filed on behalf of a New Jersey man with high blood pressure, seeks to require Denny's to list the sodium content of its food on...

Doctors See Rise in Kids With Kidney Stones

Salty foods, lack of water, and obesity may be at fault

(Newser) - Once associated with middle age, kidney stones are growing more common among US children, the New York Times reports. A few decades ago, physicians would “see a kid with a stone once every few months,” says one doctor. “Now we see kids once a week or less....

Experts Slam Sugary Cereals
 Experts Slam Sugary Cereals 
Oct 2, 2008 2:18 AM CDT

Experts Slam Sugary Cereals

'Like eating a doughnut for breakfast'

(Newser) - Mothers who serve their children certain brands of breakfast cereal are giving them the nutritional equivalent of a glazed doughnut for breakfast, according to a new study by Consumer Reports. Researchers analyzed 27 brands of cereal for nutritional value, and rated Post's Golden Crisps and Kellogg's Honey Smacks the worst....

Salt May Get an FDA Shakedown
Salt May Get an FDA Shakedown
Nov 29, 2007 12:05 PM CST

Salt May Get an FDA Shakedown

Increased regs likely on concerns about overconsumption, health effects

(Newser) - As the White House readies a national campaign against obesity, the FDA today will consider whether to reclassify one of the biggest dietary concerns of all: salt. The American Medical Association says that for Americans, who each day consume around 2,000 milligrams more than recommended, cutting salt intake by...

18 Stories