Many of you are aware of the relationship between animal protein and calcium and that higher levels of animal protein intake can increase calcium loss from the bones.

What many of you are not aware is the important relationship between excess sodium intake and calcium loss.

The calcium recommendations in the USA are not only elevated because of the high amount of animal protein consumed in the USA, but also because of the high sodium levels consumed in the typical American diet.

A study came out recently showing the significant impact high sodium diets can have on calcium levels and further support the recommendations to dramatically reduce the amount of sodium we use.

Eleven women were fed either a diet high in salt (11.2 grams of salt supplying 4480 mgs of sodium) or a diet  relatively low in salt (3.9 grams salt supplying 1560 mgs of sodium).  In addition, the diets were adjusted to be either high in calcium (1284) or low in calcium (584).

The women followed each diet for 5 weeks, followed by a 4 week break in between diets.

The level of sodium on the high salt diet is similar to the level of sodium consumed in this country (3000-5000 mgs/day) and the level of sodium on the low sodium diet is similar to the upper range of the recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (1200-1500 mgs/day).  In addition, the level of calcium recommended on the high calcium diet is similar to the level recommended in this country and the amount of calcium in the low calcium diet is close to the amount you get naturally from a whole foods, plant-based diet.

In this randomized cross-over trial , the high sodium diet caused a significant increase in calcium loss and significantly affected bone calcium balance from positive to negative, even with the high calcium diet.

What this means to you is that if you have a high sodium intake, similar to most Americans, you are putting yourself at risk, even if you are taking in a higher level of calcium.

One word of caution: the level of salt on the low sodium diet was still enough to cause a negative calcium balance on the lower calcium diet.

Perhaps even lower amounts of sodium than the IOM is recommending are ideal.

So . . .

• Ensure adequate calcium intake
• Limit/eliminate animal protein
• Limit/eliminate added sodium
• Ensure adequate weight bearing exercise

One in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, and almost 1 billion people worldwide. Hypertension in turn is a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. And while being overweight and inactive raises blood pressure, too much salt is a big culprit as well.

The American Medical Association says cutting in half the sodium in processed and restaurant foods within 10 years could wind up saving 150,000 lives annually. The World Health Organization this year called for worldwide sodium reduction in processed foods, plus consumer education on cutting the salt.

In addition, we have also seen the importance of reducing salt intake to reduce our risk of osteoporosis.

If you are trying to cut back on salt, you have to know where most of the salt is coming from. In an effort to cut back on salt, many people quit adding salt themselves from the salt shaker, and also in any cooking they do at home.   However, while these efforts are to be applauded, they will only have a small impact on the amount of salt in their diet.

Why?

Most all the salt in the American food supply is hidden in processed foods and in restaurant foods.  Without knowing this and how to eliminate it, efforts to cut the salt can be futile.

The average American consumes about 3000-4000 mgs of sodium a day. This is far in excess of the Institutes of Medicine’s guidelines of 1200-1500 mgs day.  It is even far in excess of the Upper Limit of 2300 mgs/day they set.

Of the 3000 - 4000 mgs/day, only about 5 percent of salt comes from what is added from the salt shaker and only another 5 percent comes from what is added during cooking at home. Another 10-12 percent occurs naturally in the food.

The big problem is the more than 75 percent that comes from restaurant foods and processed foods.

Food manufacturers claim that people will not buy their food if they reduce the salt content.  But, this may only be  a passing phenomenon as scientific studies show people get accustomed to eating less salt in mere months, and then usually find their old foods too salty.

Now, that we have seen how important it is to reduce our sodium intake, here is a simple method to limit the amount of sodium in packaged and processed foods.

While it is difficult to control what happens in the kitchen of a restaurant, we can all easily reduce the amount of salt we consume in packaged foods. The simplest way to do this is to limit the amount of sodium “per serving” in a product to no more than the amount of calories “per serving.”  In other words, if a product has 200 calories per serving, the amount of sodium should not exceed 200 mgs.  Simple and easy!

If you are really watching your sodium, then I would take it even a step further. Limit the amount of sodium in mgs/serving to 1/2 the amount of calories/serving.  So, using the example above, if a product has 200 calories, the amount of sodium per serving should not exceed 100 mgs.

If you apply these guidelines, you will come to realize how much sodium is hidden in packaged products. And, you will have a simple method for reducing the amount of sodium in any packaged, processed product you buy.