NYC takes on sodium

NEW YORK (WABC) -- First, it was smoking. Then trans fat and calories. Now, there's a new war being waged in the name of improving your health.

The commissioner of New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is now waging an assault on salt, hoping to lower the amount Americans are taking in.

Salt makes things tasty, helps bread rise, preserves fresh food and is essential to our way of life. Yet, it can also be a silent killer.

Already successful targeting trans fats and smoking, the city is adding salt to its list of things they want to subtract from your lifestyle.

Consumers don't suspect canned veggies or ice cream to be laden with salt. But they are. Sports drinks, especially, are loaded with sodium, helping athletes retain water. But in excess, they wreak havoc on your cardiovascular system.

Dr. Howard Weintraub joins the chorus of health professionals backing the city's nationwide initiative to convince manufacturers to gradually lower the salt they put in products by 50 percent over the next 10 years. They say 150,000 lives could be saved.

The hope is by taking salt out slowly, we eventually won't know what we're missing.

To read the full report at NYC.gov, CLICK HERE.

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WEB PRODUCED BY: Bill King

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