Scientists say that salt is the number one killer in the world.

High blood pressure is the culprit in most deaths worldwide and salt only exacerbates hypertension which causes heart attack and stroke.

It is not simply table salt, however, which contributes to alarmingly high sodium intake.

Fast food, packaged foods even breads and cereals contain a high amount of sodium to preserve shelf life and enhance the taste of otherwise low quality food products.

Reducing daily sodium intake by 2,000 milligrams at the population level could prevent 1.25 million deaths from stroke and almost 3 million deaths from cardiovascular disease each year, according to an analysis published in the British Medical Journal in 2009. A 1,200-milligram reduction could save up to $24 billion annually in U.S. health costs, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2010.

It seems that Americans are getting too much sodium in their diets.

Excess sodium raises blood pressure and makes it difficult to lose weight.
Hypertension can lead to heart attack and stroke so it is worth monitoring your diet to eliminate excess salt.

Currently, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommends the average individual should consume a limit of 2,300 milligrams per day. But the average person’s actual sodium consumption per day – 3,300 milligrams, according to the report. And that doesn’t include salt added at the table.

Since sodium acts a preservative it is found in many processed foods.

Breads, rolls, lunch meats and pizza are just some of the worst culprits contributing to excessive sodium in our daily diets.

The Chinese are faced with more food choices as they become more affluent.

More Western style eating habits including a taste for more sugar, salt and fizzy drinks are taking a toll on the health of the Chinese people.

Public-health experts in China say obesity has become a serious problem: Twenty-five percent of adults are overweight or obese, according to a 2008 study published in Health Affairs. But Cai Meqin, a nutritionist at Shanghai Jiaotong University, says all the overeating is partly a reaction to the food shortages under Chairman Mao a generation ago.

“At that time, Chinese people [did] not have much food to eat, so they [were] very slim, but right now we have much, much more food, so they eat more [and are] overweight,” says Cai.