Recently, I cut down on the amount of salt I use on my food. I believe it's something everyone should do. Apparently, Sam thinks so too. The FDA plans on limiting the amount of salt used in processed foods. HotAir seems to disagree.
The FDA plans on slightly lowering the amount of salt used in processed foods every year so that Americans can adapt to the change without noticing what's happening. They will decide how much salt can be used in each product and lower that amount slightly each year until they are comfortable with the cut.
"We can't just rely on the individual to do something," said Cheryl Anderson, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who served on the Institute of Medicine committee. "Food manufacturers have to reduce the amount of sodium in foods."
If that didn't slap you in the face as an insult, then you need to wake up.
Apparently, the government thinks we can't make our own decisions. Should we really rely on daddy Sam to hold our hand so we don't make possible mistakes? It's fair to make producers label what's in their food, but to control their recipes? To control what we can buy?
*wince* That's cold Asherlee, when to England the food was actually pretty decent...
Almost everything I tried there had no taste. And salt doesn't help that much. But, I think my palette is hard to please considering my geographical location.
--------- Random bit, does anyone know why sodium is in gatorade and dasani water? ...wouldn't it just make you more thirsty?
Random bit, does anyone know why sodium is in gatorade and dasani water? ...wouldn't it just make you more thirsty?
That's the point. The more you drink the more you buy.
Although it's in very small amounts as far as I've seen. It doesn't really affect me much other than leaving a slight 'thirsty' feeling in my mouth for thirty or so seconds.
I would have to agree with asherlee... food in the UK is generally bland, My personal opinion on that is that they probably try to booze you up and expect for you to fill your stomach on sub par food.
Random bit, does anyone know why sodium is in gatorade and dasani water? ...wouldn't it just make you more thirsty?
no. false.
if you only drank water you couldn't replenish your body's sodium which you excrete out as sweat. thats why your sweat tastes salty. you body needs sodium for basic brain functions, if I'm correct it is used in the Na- K+ pumps.
if you had only water and no minerals in it, you wouldn't die per se from dehydration you'd rather die from demineralization? (I'm pretty sure thats the word) your body can't perform the normal functions it needs and you will go into shock.
so really, orion, not to attack your lack of understanding, as it does seem like a logical reason, as salt water is supposed to make you thirsty but you have to remember that kind of water has to be 2% or above, and most of the time the water you drink contains like 0.00017636981% sodium. which is just enough to restore brain functions when you are dehydrated. (ever notice you are dizzy, ect. when dehydrated? your head hurts? yea lack of "electrolytes" (sodium, potasium))
hope that clears up any misconceptions about anything regarding sodium in drinks
Although it's in very small amounts as far as I've seen. It doesn't really affect me much
I mean cmon. this should have been a little flag. It isn't supposed to affect you negatively at all, or give you the urge to buy more drinks.
Apparently, the government thinks we can't make our own decisions.
Because we can't. Well, we make decisions, just wrong ones. People have known for a long time that excessive sodium is unhealthy. And sodium content is very clearly printed on the nutrition label. So it isn't like people don't know what their are doing.
However, that doen't give the government the right to control our decisions. It is their duty to intervene, but that doesn't necesarily mean control.
The problem with sodium is that it is only harmful in large amounts; we actually need small amounts to function as DDX pointed out. This prevents the government from deeling with sodium as they do with other harmful agents.
Therefore, an anti-sodium campaign or a sodium tax would be idiotic. This would punish people who were already taking a healthy amount of sodium. Most people already are informed about the harmful effects of sodium, so education has already been proved to be ineffective. This doesn't really leave the government with too many options.
This doesn't really leave the government with too many options.
Let people harm themselves.
If someone wants to make a bad decision, they should be allowed to do so. If a person decides to cut themselves with a razor, then that's their choice. The government shouldn't be able to tell them not too. If the government makes it illegal for people to cut themselves, then that can easily lead to complex laws related to purchasing razors.
Basically, my point is this. If we make the mistake of eating too much salt, then that should be out problem, not the government.
No man is an island entire of itself; everything we do affects everyone else. Excessive salt intake can lead to all sorts of problems, most notably hypertension, heart attacks, and strokes. These problems can lead to death. Death, of course, effects everyone. Your employer has to find a new employee, and your family has to suffer a traumatic experience.
And this isn't even counting the medical expenses associated with a heart attack.
The government invests a large amount of money in everyone: 12 years of public education, military protection, infrastruture upkeep, etc. It makes sense that they would try to keep these investments alive.
Here is my solution: The government should find a reccomended quantity of sodium for various types of food. Obviously, something typically salty, like peanuts, shouldn't be held to the same standards as other foods, such as bannanas.
These standards should be voluntary. However, companies with a significantly large customer base should be required to state whether or not they meet the standards. They will have to place an "excessive salt" label on their product.
Of course everything we do effects someone else. It shouldn't be up to the government to nanny us. The problem is, we are depending too much on our government to protect us.
As someone said earlier, the more protection you have the less freedom you have.
If I die and it effects the government, my family, and my employer, then that's their problem. I don't need the government pulling the one thing every teenager hears. "I supper you, you live by my rules."
I don't want to live a life owing my government because my government takes care of me. My government is supposed to protect me from other people, not myself.
Apparently, the government thinks we can't make our own decisions. Should we really rely on daddy Sam to hold our hand so we don't make possible mistakes? It's fair to make producers label what's in their food, but to control their recipes? To control what we can buy?
My government is supposed to protect me from other people, not myself.
I don't see it as the government saying we can't use salt, I see it more as the government limiting the amount of salt companies can use in food. Realistically, many processed do contain way to much salt, and there's nothing we can do about it besides not eating it. The government isn't protecting us from ourselves as much as protecting us from companies using an increasingly higher amount of salt in their products. If you want loads of salt in your food, go ahead and add it after it's bought.
I spent about an hour poking around for something easy to understand, and to explain...What I was looking for was documentation on the amount of salt the US used prior to 1910. BTW, the FDA is 100 yrs old just in case you feel like celebrating? The FDA's link has every tiny particle broken down to the 1/10 parts per billion [sarcasm], but close. If I could explain it I would include the link. What I'm hoping to prove is that 100 years ago we knew that salt was a preservative but didn't have the scientific data to show just how much to use in the original 'tin' can. Now we use specially coated cans that help to keep the metal from transferring to the food and killing us slowly by 'heavy metal poisoning'.
I don't see it as the government saying we can't use salt, I see it more as the government limiting the amount of salt companies can use in food. Realistically, many processed do contain way to much salt, and there's nothing we can do about it besides not eating it. The government isn't protecting us from ourselves as much as protecting us from companies using an increasingly higher amount of salt in their products. If you want loads of salt in your food, go ahead and add it after it's bought.
There's a difference between adding salt to food before it is cooked and adding salt afterward. It's not even about the salt. It's about the government holding our hand. If salt is such a problem, people can start buying less salty foods. They do exist.
The issue is that we are allowing the government to fix our problems. When we do this, we sacrifice control to the government. This basically means we are allowing the government to creep closer to invading our privacy in every way shape and form.
I would have to agree with asherlee... food in the UK is generally bland, My personal opinion on that is that they probably try to booze you up and expect for you to fill your stomach on sub par food.
Depends where you go. The plus about London is that there are so many foreign restaurants which serve awesome food. Although up North, I'll give you.
In answer to the OP, I think it is important to note that for many on low incomes, there simply isn't a healthy option. Ever been into a Tesco, or Iceland's lately? It's great for the poor who can't afford M&S, Waitrose etc., but cheap food tends to be processed, and processed food tends to be high in salt to mask the terrible taste of the ingredients. For many on a low budget the choice of low salt simply isn't there.
