No more than 1,500 mgs of daily sodium is the U.S. recommendation. Studies have linked high sodium intake to stroke and other morbidity factors. Subway, a proud sponsor of the American heart Association, announced its reduction of salt by nearly 30% on some of its tasty menu items."Fresh Fit" sandwiches removed 28% of the salt, in addition too the 15% of sodium the company already removed from its core sandwiches.
"We have made significant reductions already, but we plan to reduce even more." The federal government recommends that the majority of Americans consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of salt per day, and even with the cuts, most of Subway's sandwiches would still account for more than half of a person's recommend daily amount of sodium. "50 percent of your daily consumption is more than we would like, but it’s much better than what it was before," said Dr. Ralph Sacco, President of the American Heart Association and Chairman of Neurology at the University of Miami. "We think any incremental step down is a step in the right direction." If an individual chooses to eat a 12-inch sandwich from Subway, the sandwich would likely exceed the federal government's recommendation.
While the new solution does not fix the problem, it takes steps in a positive direction for a healthier tomorrow. How Subway has changed from 2009 to 2011 (amount of sodium in milligrams):
Fresh Fit 6-Inch
Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki: 2009 - 1,200 mg vs. 2011 - 900 mg 6-Inch
Turkey Breast: 2009 - 1,000 mg vs. 2011 - 810 mg 6-Inch
Oven Roasted Chicken: 2009 - 830 mg vs. 2011 - 640 mg
Now if we can only get the calories on the menu we could be totally heart healthy and make better decisions about the foods that we eat.
For more information about Subway's changes check out the full article at ABC News online.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/subway-cuts-salt-fresh-fit-sandwiches/story?id=13399837
Subway has done it, so has Taco Bell. I think everyone should do it.
ReplyDelete