Article found in the American Medical Association’s Morning Rounds newsletter.
The Washington Post (4/3, Bernstein) “To Your Health” blog reports that “more than half of” the food Americans “buy contains more than the recommended amount of salt for each serving” consumed. In the April issue of the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, researchers from the CDC found that “meat and pasta mixed dishes…were the top culprits, with better than 80 percent of each containing too much salt in the three regions of the country examined (Pacific, East North Central, and South Atlantic).” Other foods containing more than the recommended amount of salt include “pizza (better than 70 percent), soups (more than 60 percent) and cold cuts (50 to 60 percent, depending on the region).”
The ABC News (4/3, Shah) website points out that a high intake of sodium has been associated with hypertension. In order “for foods to be deemed healthy by the Food and Drug Administration, they must contain less than 600 milligrams of sodium per serving for meals or less than 480 milligrams of sodium per serving of individual food items,” an amount that is “less than a quarter teaspoon of salt.”
The Today Show Online (4/3, Fox) reports that the study authors wrote, “In all three divisions, 50 percent or more of products sold in most food categories exceeded the sodium-per-serving conditions for a ‘healthy’ food.”
The NPR (4/3, Aubrey) “The Salt” blog reports that in the study, CDC investigators “used Nielsen ScanTrack data, which captured sales of nearly 4,000 packaged food items sold in big, chain grocery stores around the country.” They then examined “regional differences in the sodium content of purchased foods” and found that “no clear pattern emerged.” In other words, everywhere across the US, sodium consumption is high.
A low salt diet is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but did you know that it is the first thing patients should think about changing when they are experiencing vertigo from Meniere’s Disease?
According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery,
Ménières disease describes a set of episodic symptoms including vertigo (attacks of a spinning sensation), hearing loss, tinnitus (a roaring, buzzing, or ringing sound in the ear), and a sensation of fullness in the affected ear. Episodes typically last from 20 minutes up to 4 hours.
While the hearing loss might be intermittent, after months or years of suffering from Ménières, hearing loss often becomes permanent. It is important to work out a treatment plan with your doctor that is specific to you and, often, that treatment plan includes a low sodium diet to help lower the amount of episodes experienced.
Here are a few low sodium recipes that can help you on the right track to managing your Ménières and remember – there is a great ENT right in Wilson County ready to help you manage it!
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