- © 2008 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors
One of the major tools to reduce the prevalence of hypertension and improve hypertension control is to reduce the amount of sodium added to our foods during processing. Recently we estimated that hypertension could be prevented in 1 million Canadians by reducing sodium additives to a healthy level.1 However, a reduction in sodium additives will not happen overnight. A collaborative and progressive approach to reducing sodium consumption by 2020 was recently endorsed by 17 Canadian health organizations, including the Canadian Medical Association, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and Blood Pressure Canada.
Education of the public is critical, as is the development of foods with less sodium. The Health Check program of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada has already resulted in significant amounts of sodium being removed from many foods. As a result of Health Check's work with the Campbell Soup Company, for example, Blood Pressure Canada recently awarded the company a certificate of excellence for sodium reduction.
Health care practitioners, the food industry and health groups like the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada need to continue to work together to make a healthier diet a reality, and Health Check is an important program that is taking us toward that goal. Health advocates need to focus their energies on companies that continue to add large quantities of salt and other harmful substances to our foods rather than on organizations striving to make Canadians healthier.2
Footnotes
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Competing interests: Norm Campbell received travel assistance from McCain Foods to speak at the regional meeting of the Atlantic Dietitians of Canada in 2007. There was no contact with McCain Foods about the talk or its content.