Note from Connie: A fascinating study comes from the U.K. that draws a connection between salt intake and sugar intake. Jennifer Moore brings you details.
If young kids and adolescents cut their salt intake, they’d also lower the amount of sugar-sweetened sodas they drink, a team of researchers based at St. George’s, University of London in the United Kingdom concludes in the journal Hypertension.
Indeed, the U.K. scientists indicated that they found "a highly significant association between salt intake and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption."
Furthermore, the St. George’s team estimates that if British kids cut their salt intake in half, there would be an average reduction of more than 2 sugary sodas a week. That translates into 244 fewer calories a week for every British youngster.
If American kids cut the same amount of salt, it could result in a reduction of about 190,000 tons of sugar consumed by all American youngsters per year, this study finds. (Yikes, that’s a massive amount of sugar!)
It’s unclear, however, why the data reviewed was so old — the researchers looked at information in a 1997 study called the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, in which British kids aged 4 to 18 or their parents recorded what they ate and drank for a week.)
FYI, the St. George’s researchers note that the National Diet and Nutrition Survey didn’t count salt added during cooking or at the table, just salt "hidden" in products by food companies.
Still, their research gives parents an awfully compelling reason to keep salted foods away from their kids.
Thanks to the Heart and Stroke Foundation for the tip on this news.
Jennifer Moore for SUGAR SHOCK! Blog