The Sodium Shakedown…

The recently released new Dietary Guidelines for Americans made a bold recommendation: The American public should starting ratcheting down the sodium in their diet to less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) and many individuals should consume a mere 1,500 milligrams (mg) or the amount found in 2/3 teaspoon of salt. Currently, Americans, on average, are consuming more than twice that amount, or over 3,400 mg of sodium daily.

Why all the fuss? Hypertension, better know as high blood pressure, is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke, 2 out of the 3 leading causes of death in the United States. Americans’ lopsided dietary intake of too much sodium (which increases blood pressure) and too little potassium (which lowers blood pressure) is wrecking havoc with approximately 2/3 of individuals who either already have hypertension or pre-hypertension (they are on their way to getting high blood pressure).

Sodium and potassium aside, as you age, your blood pressure typically increases. With over 77 million Baby Boomers moving towards the senior citizen circuit, there is the potential for a lot of Americans with less than healthy blood pressure. The lower sodium recommendation of 1,500 mg applies to those who are 51 and older, and those of any age who are African American, currently have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease. It is estimated that about half of the US population falls into this group.

So where’s all the sodium coming from in your diet? Believe it or not, only about 5 to 10% of the sodium in your diet comes from the salt that you add when cooking and/or shake on your meal when you are sitting down at the table. Rather, over 70% comes from processed foods, with the heavy hitters being yeast breads, chicken and chicken mixed dishes, and pizza in the diet .

The good news is that many food companies, such as Campbell’s, General Mills’, Heinz, and Kraft are committed to lowering the sodium in their products over the next several years.

New School Lunch Guidelines: Hold the Fries, Please

According to USDA Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, the school lunch program that serves more than 30 million children daily is likely to get healthier very soon. The USDA is proposing significant changes to improve the nutritional quality of the school meals that are served to America’s youth. While American youngsters consume up to half of their daily calories at school, unfortunately, approximately 1/3 of American children are obese or at risk for becoming obese.

In today’s USDA news conference, the Agriculture Secretary stressed that the new school lunch program will increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat fluid milk in school meals. The implementation of these new guidelines would result in meals that contain less sodium and heart-unhealthy saturated fat, without exceeding the child’s daily calorie needs. A diet high in sodium and/or saturated fat can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death among Americans. The availability of starchy vegetables, such as French fries, in the school lunch will be reduced over the course of the week.

The good news is that there isn’t any need to wait for the new and improved school lunch program to be implemented to start packing the kiddies in your life a healthier backpack lunch.

Here are my top Backpack Lunches ideas that healthy and kid-approved. These are easy to create and guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser!