salt in the wound

Readers who know me already know what this is about. And are likely running for cover. Sorry. Everyone needs a hobby horse and this is mine.

Salt. I hate the stuff.

To my non-salt-addicted palate, most prepared foods and restaurant meals taste like nothing but salt.

I won't perform my usual diatribe here and now, but suffice it to say that the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) believes salt is killing 150,000 Americans a year. Here's what they say:

"Too much salt in the diet is boosting Americans’ blood pressure and is prematurely killing roughly 150,000 people each year, according to a new report issued today by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Despite the pleas of health experts to cut back, salt consumption has drifted upward over the past 30 years to the point where Americans are now consuming about 4,000 milligrams of sodium per day—about twice the recommended amount. CSPI is filing a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in federal court to compel the agency to classify salt as a food additive. Presently, FDA classifies salt as GRAS, or Generally Recognized as Safe, which means that it is not closely regulated."

Last week, I went to the grocery store and decided that, for a change, I would try one of the scores of cereals that I've never tried. I'm pretty much a boring old no-added-sugar, no added-salt Spoon Size Shredded Wheat girl, but, once in a while, I like a little Count Chocula or Lucky Charms. (Even Homer nods.)

For the first time, however, I began looking at the new-style nutrition labels that are now gracing every food package. Guess what I learned? That most cereals have three or more times the amount of salt as there is in microwave popcorn.

Now, I don't know about you, but, to my mind, popcorn is supposed to be a salty snack food and breakfast cereal is not. Here's how it stacks up.

• Orville Redenbacher's Buttery popcorn ~ 53 mg of sodium per cup
• Master Choice Theatre Style Extra Buttery Flavour popcorn ~ 85 mg sodium per cup
• Kellogg's Corn Pops - 200 mg sodium per cup
• Kellogg's Tony's Turbos - 240 mg sodium per cup
• Post Shreddies - 270 mg sodium per cup
• General Mills Oatmeal Crisp - 280 mg sodium per cup

The CSPI says that the average American is consuming about 4,000 mg a day of sodium, compared with about 2,300 in the 1970s. Dietary guidelines for Americans recommend 1,500 mg sodium daily for older adults, African-Americans and those with high blood pressure.

Everyone else can consume about 2,300 mg per day.

In case you're wondering, about 75 percent of the daily 4,000 mg sodium intake of the U.S. population comes from salt in processed and restaurant foods; only 10 percent comes from foods' natural content, according to CSPI. Even given a maximum of 2,300 mg per day, there's still lots of room for popcorn, cheese and the like. No sacrifice to be healthy is required here.

And you don't have to take that with a grain of salt.