Issue Date: June 26, 2005
Fight back against salt overload
Sure, you can take the salt shaker off the table. It's tougher to get rid of salt overloads in the processed foods that account for as much as 80% of the sodium we consume.
Today, more companies offer low-salt and "no salt added" alternatives. Choosing those, plus other low-sodium foods, can help lower blood pressure, as well as the risk of stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, cataracts, brittle bones, stomach cancer and dementia.
Too much salt now accounts for nearly 150,000 premature deaths a year, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group that has sued the FDA to make it crack down on sodium in foods. Government guidelines limit sodium to 2,300 milligrams a day (about 1 teaspoon) for adults under age 45, and 1,500mg daily for African Americans, older adults, and those with high blood pressure. Most Americans eat 3,500mg to 4,500mg a day.
How to shake sodium:
Always check food labels for sodium content. Compare brands.
Buy no-salt-added foods.
Rinse canned beans and tuna to remove some of the salt.
Restrict bacon, ham, hot dogs, cold cuts, smoked salted fish, sauerkraut, pickles and processed cheese.
Eat fresh vegetables. They're naturally low in sodium and high in potassium. Bonus: Potassium forces the kidneys to excrete more sodium.
Salt-busting choices
Tomato sauce: Cut 345mg per 1/4 cup
Use "no salt added" canned (15mg), not regular canned (360mg).
Corn kernels: Cut 284mg per 1/2 cup
Use frozen, unsalted (2mg), not canned (286mg).
Cereal: Cut 200mg per ounce
Use oats (0mg), not corn flakes (200mg).
Peanuts: Cut 228mg per ounce
Use unsalted dry-roasted (2mg), not salted dry-roasted (230mg).
Cheese: Cut 245mg per ounce
Use cheddar (176mg), not processed American (421mg).
Popcorn: Cut at least 50mg per cup
Use air-popped (0mg), not regular microwave (50mg or more).
Scientific sources for this article:
Salt sensitivity and shorter life
Hypertension 2001; 37:429-432
Salt and blood pressure
Sacks, FM New England J. of Medicine, 2001 Jan 4;344 (1): 3-10
and
Svetkey LP, Sacks, FM. J Am Diet Assoc 1999;99(suppl 8):S96-104
Salt and strokes
He J. JAMA 1999 Dec 1; 282(21): 2027-34
and
Stroke; 1999, 30:529-536
Salt and heartburn
Nilsson M. Gut 2004 dec; 53(12): 1730-5
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Buff up on business
Business travel can wreak havoc on a fitness routine. But more and more road warriors are battling the bulge. The Travel Industry Association of America found 43% of business travelers make use of hotel fitness centers "at least sometimes."
If your hotel's gym is a joke, all is not lost.
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Many hotels now offer updated fitness options, from in-room treadmills to free yoga channels and partnerships with nearby gyms. For such hotels, check out fitforbusiness.com.
If your hotel offers only a windowless fitness center with a broken treadmill and mismatched dumbbells, try this:
Buy a jump rope and exercise band at any sporting goods store. Use the band for resistance training and the jump rope to warm up and to add bursts of cardio between sets.
Pack a fitness DVD. Yoga or kickboxing are good in-room workouts.
Calisthenics work anywhere. Try a series of jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches and squats.
Most important, jot workouts into your travel itinerary before hitting the road. Making time is the first step.Jean Carper's latest cookbook is EatSmart. Contact her at stopagingnow.com.
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Do you need a service to protect your identity?
It seems every week another company announces it has lost sensitive data on thousands of consumers, putting them at risk of identity theft. As a result, companies have redoubled efforts to sell identity protection services, which promise to alert you automatically when activity occurs on your credit report.
LOOK CAREFULLY: These services are expensive, and not all are created equal. For instance, some track only one of the three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian). Thanks to a new federal law, soon you'll be able to order a free credit report directly from each agency once a year, says Beth Givens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (privacyrights.org), a consumer group. If you want to buy extra protection, she suggests sticking to services that monitor all three agencies daily so you can quickly stop suspected fraud. Examples: Wachovia's Identity Guard CreditProtectX3 ($12.99 a month) or Equifax's Credit Watch Gold ($12.95 a month/$129.95 a year).
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Cellphones in the air
Want to call home on your cellphone from 35,000 feet? You may not have long to wait. The FAA's current ban could be lifted by late next year; the possibility is now under study.
"You will see cellphones on our aircraft within the next two years," promises Tim Wagner of American Airlines, the largest U.S. carrier, which tested cellphones on a two-hour flight in 2004.
That may be music to the ears of some travelers, but will every flight turn into a conversational free-for-all? Wagner thinks not, explaining that "one solution we're thinking of is having specific quiet times on the flight."
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