Big Benefits From Reducing Daily Salt

A new study suggests that removing half a teaspoon of salt from the average American's daily diet could cut the prevalence fo heart disease, stroke and heart attack, HealthDay reported.

Researchers predicted that the adjustment in daily salt intake could lower the number of new heart disease cases each year by as much as 120,000 and stroke cases by 66,000.  The number of heart attacks would fall by at least 54,000 and overall deaths in the United States would drop by as many as 92,000, according to the study.

Much of the sodium Americans take in is added to their foods before they're sold in restaurants or as packaged meals, HealthDay reports. The study, published in the New England Journal of medicine, also reported that reducing American's salt intake could save up to $24 billion in health care costs each year.