Based on this research, the US government is revisiting its sodium guidelines. The new thinking: Adults should consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day (two-thirds of a teaspoon), down from the previous limit of less than 2,300 mg.
This adjustment means that Americans are seriously overdosing on salt, getting 3,436 mg a day—more than double the recommended amount. Where's all that sodium coming from? The greatest concern isn't the flaky stuff you shake on at the table—it's the salt that's already in your food. The biggest problems are processed and packaged foods, which load up on salt for flavor but also for color and texture and to prevent spoilage. About 80% of the sodium in our diets is found in the premade crackers, cookies, cereals, soups, frozen dinners, and pasta sauces we eat at home. And that doesn't even cover fast food and other restaurant meals.
Kicking Your Salt Habit
You can cut back on sodium with a 2-week salt cleanse, which will boost your metabolism and increase your energy as you cut excess sodium from your diet. You'll also feel thinner, because you'll drop water weight from bloating. Losing those pounds and inches will help motivate you to make low-salt eating a way of life as you reset your tastebuds to enjoy low-sodium foods.
Here's how: For 14 days, you'll eat three 300-calorie meals per day, each with less than 300 mg sodium. You'll also drink a 300-calorie Mineral Boost Juice daily, which provides potassium, calcium, and magnesium to help rid your body of excess sodium. Plus, you'll eliminate processed and packaged foods, as well as alcohol.
The good news is that your palate will adapt quickly. Most of us have about 10,000 tastebuds, each one made up of 50 to 150 receptor cells that live for only 1 to 2 weeks and then are replaced by new receptors. So after eating a cleaner diet for 2 weeks, you'll not only begin to taste and enjoy more subtle flavors, you'll also have less of a craving for salt.
The Silent Killer
It's no longer just heart attacks and strokes you need to worry about if you eat too much salt. Evidence now connects sodium to other serious health problems, including:
Cancer
Salted foods are linked to a 15% increase in cancer risk, according to a 2010 Japanese study. In other research, high salt intake has been associated with deaths from stomach cancer. Salty foods irritate the stomach lining, which can cause infection by H. pylori, bacteria that lead to stomach cancer.
Osteoporosis
High-salt diets have been shown to increase calcium loss, which weakens bone and leads, over time, to osteoporosis. A 2-year study of postmenopausal women connected a decrease in hip bone density to sodium intake.
Diabetes
Eating lots of salt may promote insulin resistance. Diabetes already puts you at greater risk of hypertension and heart disease— and a high salt intake only raises these risks.
Dementia
Hypertension may also affect your brain. Results of the 2010 Women's Health Initiative Memory Study, which took MRI scans of 1,400 women age 65 or older, revealed that those with high blood pressure had more abnormal brain lesions 8 years later. Other research shows that people with hypertension are up to 600% more likely to develop stroke-related dementia.
Sleep Apnea
High blood pressure is a villain here too. It is a vicious cycle—sleep apnea causes sleep deprivation, which can increase blood pressure.
Kidney Disease
Hypertension eventually damages blood vessels throughout your body, including the kidneys. The damage can be gradual: Symptoms may not occur until kidney function is less than 10% of normal.
