Even a small reduction in salt in the diet can be a big help to the heart. A new study used a computer model to predict how just three grams less a day would affect heart disease in the United States.
The result: 10% fewer heart attacks, 8% fewer strokes, 4% fewer deaths, 11% fewer new cases of heart disease, and 240 billion dollars in health care savings.
Researchers found it could prevent 100,000 heart attacks and 92,000 deaths every year.
The study is in the New England Journal of Medicine. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo at the University of California, San Francisco was the lead author. She says people would not even notice a difference in taste with three grams, or one half teaspoon, less salt per day. The team also included researchers at Stanford and Columbia University.
Each gram of salt contains four hundred milligrams of sodium(钠), which is how foods may list their salt content.
The government says the average American man ears ten grams of salt a day. The American Heart Association advises no more than three grams for healthy people. It says salt in the American diet has increased fifty percent since the nineteen seventies, while blood pressures have also rise. Less salt can mean a lower blood pressure.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leading effort called the National Salt Reduction Initiative. The idea is to put pressure on food companies and restaurants. Critics call it government interference.
Mayor Bloomberg has already succeeded in other areas, like requiring fast food places in the city to list calorie information. Now a study by the Seattle Children’s Research Institute show that the calorie information on the menu can influence what parents order for their children.
According to the passage, what disease is not related to salt in diet?
A.Cancer. | B.Stroke. | C.Blood pressure. | D.Heart attack. |
It can be inferred from the passage that________.
A.all the heart diseases result from eating too much salt |
B.the American Heart association suggest less than 3 grams of salt a day for everyone |
C.how much salt is contained in certain food is measured by the amount of sodium |
D.the less salt one eats, the healthier he will be |
The National Salt Reduction Initiative aims to________.
A.attract the public attention to the problem |
B.require fast food places to list salt information |
C.inform people of the harm that salt does to health |
D.put pressure on food companies and restaurants |
The last paragraph mainly tells us________.
A.Bloomberg has made some other efforts to improve people’s health |
B.Bloomberg is very successful in his career |
C.parents must pay great attention to calorie information |
D.a new study is being done about calorie information |