Food choices for lowering sodium intake.

Excessive intake of dietary sodium is one form of affluent or industrial society malnutrition. When combined with a genetic-based sodium sensitivity, this high sodium intake becomes a factor in the etiology of hypertension. Most dietary sodium comes from food, natural of processed. Indirect measures of discretionary sodium intake, that from the salt shaker in the kitchen or at the table, put it at a level of 25% to 50% in the United States. Direct measures on a small sample of subjects indicate that less than 10% of sodium intake is discretionary. Anyone who needs to reduce sodium intake must, therefore, make major changes in diet. This requires information on the sodium content of common foods, the availability of low sodium analogs of popular foods, and a variety of low sodium condiments to provide more choice for the individual.