Resources
Toolkits
- Sodium Reduction Toolkit: A Global Opportunity to Reduce Population-Level Sodium Intake
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is pleased to present the Sodium Reduction Toolkit: A Global Opportunity to Reduce Population–Level Sodium Intake. The toolkit is designed to provide international and national government agencies and public health organizations with a brief overview, tools, and information for developing and implementing sodium reduction programs, policies, and initiatives aimed at lowering sodium intake.
Podcasts/Webinars
Salt Matters: Preserving Choice, Protecting Health
Excessive salt intake has proven to be a major contributor to heart attack and stroke, the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. More than three-quarters of Americans’ daily salt intake comes from foods consumed in restaurants and purchased in grocery stores. Our “Salt Matters: Preserving Choice, Protecting Health” video outlines ways to help Americans make healthier food choices with lower salt content.
Getting to the Source: Establishing an Independent Restaurants' Relationship with Food Vendors and Suppliers
This video was prepared using footage from the 2011 Sodium Reduction in Communities Program (SRCP) Grantee meeting in the Getting to the Source: Working with Vendors and Suppliers session. Panelists in this session described strategies that state and local health departments should consider when working with restaurants, vendors, and suppliers to reduce sodium in different settings. The topics covered in this video include:
- Working with Request for Proposals (RFPs), Vendor/Supplier Contracts, and Food Specifications
- Understanding the Power of Volume and Group Purchasing
- Creating Consumer Demand/Acceptance
Soundbites: A Webinar Series on Earned Media
Launched in 2011, the Soundbites series provides technical assistance and support to grantees on how to conduct earned media outreach strategies that generate media coverage of public health priorities. To view the archived presentations, click HERE.
ASTHO: Salt and Your State Webinar Series
Identifying Opportunities and Resources to Promote Healthful Eating and Sodium Reduction
April 11, 2011
Using Purchasing Power to Improve Nutrition and Health
February 22, 2011
Salt and Your State, Strategies for Better Health Outcomes
December 23, 2010
To view the webinar, please enter your name and then click "view recording."
A Cup of Health with CDC—More to Consider Than the Salt Shaker
A recent CDC study found that more than 90 percent of adults consume more sodium than they need. Sodium is found in high quantities in foods, such as canned vegetables and soups, frozen dinners, and instant flavored rice and cereal.
Date released: 7/1/10
The National Academy of Sciences Podcast: Reducing the Sodium Intake in the United States
A Cup of Health with CDC—Living a Less Salty Life
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. A diet high in sodium, or salt, can raise blood pressure. Dr. Darwin Labarthe discusses the importance of lowering your salt intake in order to minimize the risk of developing hypertension.
Date released: 3/31/09
A Minute of Health with CDC—Living a Less Salty Life
A diet high in sodium can lead to high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. This broadcast discusses how people can improve their health by becoming aware of the salt content in their food.
Date released: 3/31/09
Fact Sheets and Handouts
- High Sodium Intake in Children and Adolescents: Cause for Concern [PDF-830K]
- Sodium: The Facts [PDF-161K]
- Sodium: Questions and Answers [PDF-527K]
- The Role of Sodium in Your Food [PDF-1.2M]
- Sources of Sodium in Your Diet [PDF-913K]
- Tips to Reduce Sodium [PDF-178K]
- Reducing Sodium in Your Diet to Help Control Your Blood Pressure [PDF-750K]
- Sodium and the Dietary Guidelines [PDF-724K]
- Sodium’s Role in Processed Foods [PDF-867K]
- Salt Stats for Media [PDF-188K]
- Online Procurement Resources [PDF-683K]
- Vital Signs: Where's the Sodium? [PDF-1M]
- Sodium Intake and Blood Pressure Among U.S. Children and Adolescents [PDF-157K]
Guides
- Improving the Food Environment Through Nutrition Standards: A Guide for Government Procurement [PDF-653K]
- Under Pressure: Strategies for Sodium Reduction in the School Environment [PDF-1.8M]
- Under Pressure: Strategies for Sodium Reduction in the Hospital Environment [PDF- 736K]
- Under Pressure: Strategies for Sodium Reduction in Worksites [PDF-1.3M]
- Under Pressure: Strategies for Sodium Reduction in Institutional Environments [PDF-1M]
- Controlling Hypertension by Learning to Control Sodium Intake: A Fotonovela [PDF-3.0M]
- Controlling Hypertension by Learning to Control Sodium Intake: Promotora Guide [PDF-1.0M]
Practice Stories from the Field
- Choose Health LA: Reducing Sodium in Los Angeles County [PDF-129K]
- Lowering Sodium in Menu Items for Seniors—Schenectady County [PDF-289K]
- Reducing Sodium in School Meals is Elementary—Broome County Health Department and Broome Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services [PDF-389K]
- Reducing Sodium—A Johnson County Heart Health Initiative [PDF-347K]
- Evaluating the Sodium Reduction in Communities Program: Lessons Learned from Planning and Early Implementation [PDF-819K]
Articles
- The Salty Stuff: Salt, Blood Pressure and Your Health
NIH News in Health Newsletter, March 2010
e-Cards: Send a Sodium e-Card
Online Resources—Domestic
- CDC's Sodium Reduction in Communities Program (SRCP)
- CDC High Blood Pressure Web Site
- CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, Overweight, and Obesity
- American Heart Association—Shake Your Salt Habit
- American Society of Hypertension
- Center for Science in the Public Interest
- NHLBI—Reduce Salt and Sodium in Your Diet
- National High Blood Pressure Education Program
- Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Diet
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
- Nutrition.gov: What’s in Food—Salt and Sodium
- United States Department of Agriculture—Information on Salt/Sodium
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration—Lowering Salt in Your Diet
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration—How to Understand and Use the Nutritional Facts Label
- Institute of Medicine of the National Academies Report Finds National Action Imperative to Reduce Sodium Content of Foods
Online Resources—International
- Food Standards Agency, United Kingdom
- World Health Organization, Reducing Salt Intake in Populations
- World Hypertension League
- Sodium 101—Get the Facts
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