If I were a piece of pork (and some would say I am), I would be a salt cured ham. We’ve been eating restaurant meals at least once a day while on vacation in California and it has been very salty. On Tuesday, we ate both lunch and dinner out and by the evening, I had a headache that lasted through the next day.

From the Center for Science in the Public Interest* publication, Salt: The Forgotten Killer (PDF):

  • Consuming more salt tends to increase blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease.
  • Sodium intake?mostly from salt?has drifted upwards over the past 30 years and now averages about 4,000 milligrams per day, about twice the recommended amount.
  • The vast majority?about 77 percent?of sodium comes from processed foods and foods eaten outside the home. The foods that provide the most sodium to the average diet?because they are frequently consumed and/or rich in sodium?are bread, cheese, ham, salad dressings, and cakes and cookies.
  • Many restaurant meals provide more than a whole day?s worth of sodium. Thousands of packaged foods provide one-fourth or more of a day?s maximum recommended intake.
  • One survey found that between 1994 and 2004 the average sodium content of foods increased by 6 percent.

Food features less and less prominently on the agenda of each of our successive trips back to California. Maybe it’s because everything is either too salty or too sweet, and almost always greasy. It’s strange that I notice it so much here considering food from Vietnamese restaurants is no less saturated.

Most likely it’s because we’re also enjoying my mom’s excellent cooking. Her meals are lighter – far less greasy, salty, and sweet. Even her fruit smoothies (that also include vegetables like celery, cucumbers, etc.) are fresher and feel more cleansing than Jamba Juice. There really is nothing like mom’s cooking.

*The CSPI tends to advocate too much government regulation for my taste, but in general, I don’t think it could hurt to reduce salt intake.

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