empower people all over the world with the knowledge, information and education they need to make healthier choices.”
For instance, guidelines from the federal government and the AHA recommend people limit sodium to less than 2,300 milligrams per day. Yet Americans consume on average more than 3,400 mg of sodium a day.
Education about salt reduction – or just realizing how much salt they consume daily – along with learning which foods may include trans fat can empower people to make wiser choices, said Muñoz, an assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee.
It also can encourage them to push for changes on a broader scale.
“Part of translating an admirably lofty goal into reality involves thoughtful public policy and certain requirements, like transparency of food labeling so that people in their day-to-day lives can look at a nutritional label and understand what they’re getting,” he said. “That degree of daylight on our decisions can go a long way. Engineering that reality is a challenge, but the study powerfully argues that the payoff is clear.”
