She pointed out that one cannot always judge the amount of salt in a product simply by taste. Consumers may find variations of sodium amounts within a food group, she said, such as pasta sauces where salt amounts in different products range greatly. Americans continue to eat salt at levels higher than recommended in part because they can taste the ingredient, and they savor the flavor, said Brody. Cutting it out is not as easy as decreasing cholesterol, which the taste buds could care less about. Added Brody, there is hope.
Taste is malleable, and people can get accustomed to less salt quickly if they give it a chance.
But Americans also have never received as clear-cut a message to reduce salt intake as they did cholesterol and saturated fat, said Brody. The cries of dissenters against reducing salt speak loudly and carry a big stick, she said. Food manufacturers, in particular a lucrative snack industry, have repeatedly poked holes in studies that show too much salt can be unhealthy, or they have drawn attention to other studies that are less definitive. Food companies are quietly reducing salt in their products, said Victor Fulgoni, president of Nutrition Impact and former vice president of nutrition for Kellogg Corporation. But don't expect a lot of fanfare.