Don't pass the salt and save billions of dollars in health care costs

Cutting sodium consumption down to 1,500 mg, they say, could save $26 billion.

But while cutting down on sodium sounds simple, it is actually fairly difficult for individuals to do, the researchers write.

That's because so much of the sodium Americans consume comes not from their own salt shakers, but from packaged foods and meals eaten out.

SHOOT: Just remember this easy message: salt = sick

clipped from news.yahoo.com NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Don't pass the salt: If Americans were to cut their salt intake to recommended levels, they'd have far fewer cases of high blood pressure, and save billions of dollars in health care costs, a new study estimates. Because high sodium intake can contribute to high blood pressure -- and its complications, including heart and kidney disease - the Institute of Medicine recommends that adults consume no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day. The average American, however, gets about 1,000 mg more than that, according to the authors of the study in the American Journal of Health Promotion. The researchers estimate that if the average sodium intake fell to the recommended level of 2,300 mg per day, there would be 11 million fewer cases of high blood pressure each year. (Estimates are that about 70 million American adults have high blood pressure.) The costs of treating high blood pressure and related heart disease and strokes would fall by $18 billion.