Category Archives: Weight Loss

Although a new report on salt intake by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that Americans are consuming less sodium today than they did about 10 years ago, we’re still eating far too much salt on an average day, according to the researchers behind the report. As of 2010, the average person ate about 3,424 mg of sodium each day, a figure reduced from 3,518 mg of sodium daily in 2003. Infants were not included in the study, though people of all other ages were. The decline may be partly due to the fact that popular food brands increasingly offer low-sodium options. For example, Progresso Soup, Bush’s Beans and V8 often have low-sodium versions placed directly adjacent to their typical products in supermarkets. This is important, as processed foods such as canned products and lunch meat contain a notoriously high amount of sodium.

If the trans fat ban currently proposed by the Food and Drug Administration becomes reality, some of our most popular foods could see drastic changes. The FDA is currently trying to remove trans fat’s classification as “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS. Only ingredients with GRAS classification are allowed to be included in foods, according to an FDA spokesperson. In less than 60 days, it’s possible that the FDA will come to a final decision depending on information regarding how long it could take to phase trans fats out of the food market. Before we talk about some foods that will change in the aftermath of the trans fat ban, let’s go over some of the most common questions asked about trans fat: