Gobind Uppal: Restaurant group wrong to oppose sodium menu labels

Don’t pass the salt!

The National Restaurant Association is suing New York City over new salt warning labels. Unlike high-salt diets, however, the restaurant group’s lawsuit just does not hold water. Last week the Big Apple’s Board of Health ruled that restaurant chains with at least 15 restaurants are required to add a label to alert diners to high-sodium dishes.

Citing unsourced “international” studies and denying the ruling has a scientific basis, the restaurant advocacy group ignores decades of empirical and scientific studies that link high-sodium diets with high blood pressure and increases in the risk of heart failure, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. Not surprisingly, the Salt Institute, a “nonprofit trade association dedicated to advocating the many benefits of salt” that includes member companies such as Morton Salt and Cargill Salt, have chimed in to keep the warning from consumers.

Food labels are an important public health tool to educate the public about the need to make healthy dietary choices. Too much sodium in your system leads to water retention and puts an extra burden on the heart and blood vessels. Over time, this can lead to high blood pressure and increased risk for heart disease and stroke. Known as the “silent killer” because it doesn’t have any physical symptoms, high blood pressure can not only damage the heart and arteries and lead to stroke but also cause kidney damage, vision loss, erectile dysfunction, angina and even memory loss.

According to the American Heart Association, one in three Americans already have high blood pressure. In 2011, it was estimated illnesses related to high blood pressure cost the United States $46 billion in health care services, missed work days and medication. Furthermore, heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 3 causes of death, and people suffering from high blood pressure are at high risk for developing these deadly diseases.

New York City is requiring restaurants to label menu items that exceed 2,300 milligrams of sodium. According to the U.S. departments of agriculture and health and human services, 2,300 milligrams of sodium is the maximum amount recommended for a healthy individual, per day. The restaurant and salt industries don’t want diners to know that they are serving dishes that exceed the daily recommended dose in just one serving, or that it’s a bad thing.

Food labels have already proved effective in encouraging healthy dietary changes. New York City has had menu labeling since 2008. It has been found that 28 percent of the customers at fast-food eateries adjusted their orders after noticing calorie information. In Philadelphia, where local menu labeling regulation also has been implemented, 34 percent of customers at full-service restaurants adjusted their orders after noticing calorie information.

Such changes are great for public health but bad for profits. And like the tobacco industry, the Restaurant Association and salt industry are more concerned about profits than puffy patrons with poor health.

Until this lawsuit is settled, it is important that the public become familiar with low-sodium foods and look for them on menus. According to the American Heart Association, dietary sodium restriction is the most frequent self-care behavior recommended by cardiologists.

Ask that your meal be prepared without salt and use the salt shaker or, better yet, pass on salt altogether and use fresh lemon juice and pepper for seasoning. Regardless of what the salt vendors say, it’s important for everyone to keep the sodium away.

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 9:04 PM with the headline "Gobind Uppal: Restaurant group wrong to oppose sodium menu labels."