Why Health is Wealth: Watch Hidden Salt Content in breads and why easy pronounce names people more successful

More Salt Comes From Bread and Rolls, Not from Salty Snacks

More salt in the average US diet comes from bread and rolls and not from salty snacks like potato chips, pretzels and popcorn, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released this week. Although salty snacks taste saltier, and weight for weight they

contain more sodium than bread and rolls, because the average American consumes more bread and rolls every day than salty snacks, bread consumption contributes more to sodium intake. Contained in the February edition of CDC Vital Signs, the report is timed to coincide with American Heart

Month. Too much sodium in the diet increases the risk of high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Experts say most of the salt in the diet of Americans does not come from that which they add when they prepare food at home or at the table: it comes from processed and restaurant foods.

How Much Salt Should We Use Daily and How to Reduce its Intake

Experts says that Daily Amount (GDA) should be:

Age 11 years and over, 6 g per day

Age 7-10 years, 5 g per day

Age 4-6 years, 3 g per day

Age 1-3 years, 2 g per day

Infants under 1 year should not be given salt because their kidneys are not matured.

How much is 6g of salt?

This is about one teaspoonful - not much. About three-quarters of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy.

Food labeling - high and low salt foods

You should check the labels of foods to find out which ones are high and low in salt content. If the label has more than 1.5g of salt (or 0.6g of sodium) per 100g it is a high salt content food. If it has 0.3g of salt (0.1g of sodium) per 100g then it is a low salt content food. Anything in between is a medium salt content food.

High salt content food = 1.5g of salt (or 0.6g of sodium) per 100g

Medium salt content food = between the High and Low figures

Low salt content food = 0.3g of salt (0.1g of sodium) per 100g

The CDC report shows that average sodium consumption in the US is about 3,300 milligrams a day. This suggests that only 1 in 10 Americans meets the dietary guideline of no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day, which is about the same as in a teaspoon of salt. There is an even lower guideline amount of 1,500 milligrams per day for African Americans, anyone aged 51 and over, and for people with certain conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. The report includes a list of the top 10 sources of sodium in the average American diet. Number 1 on the list is bread and rolls: number 10 is salty snacks like potato chips, pretzels and popcorn. The remaining types are cold cuts and cured meats such as deli or packaged ham or turkey, pizza, fresh and processed poultry, soups, sandwiches (including cheeseburgers), cheese, pasta dishes (excluding macaroni and cheese which is in a separate category of its own), and meat mixed dishes such as meat loaf with tomato sauce.

The report highlights that:

These ten types of food account for 44% of dietary sodium consumed each day in the US.

65% of sodium in the American diet comes from food bought in stores.

25% comes from meals purchased in restaurants.

Cutting the sodium in the 10 leading sources by 25% would lower the total consumed by more than 10% and could help prevent 28,000 deaths a year.

Too much sodium raises blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. These diseases kill more than 800,000 Americans each year and contribute an estimated $273 billion in health care costs."Reducing daily consumption of sodium is not easy when it is present in so many of the foods we eat.But people can lower their intake by eating a diet high in fresh or frozen fruits and vegatables without sauce, and by limiting the amount of processed foods without sodium, checking grocery labels and choosing products lower in sodium.Frieden said the CDC were encouraged that some food companies are taking steps to reduce sodium in their products. He cited the example of Kraft Foods, who have committed to an average reduction of 10% over a two-year period. Dozens of other companies have also joined a national campaign to reduce sodium in foods."The leading supplier of cheese for pizza, Leprino Foods, is actively working on providing customers and consumers with healthier options. We are confident that more manufacturers will do the same," said Frieden.Data for the report came from surveys of more than 7,200 people carried out in 2007 and 2008. Nearly half of those surveyed were children.

(Source-CDC Vital Signs)

Why people with easy to pronounce names win more friends and favour

Very Funny Names

In the first study of its kind, and published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, researchers analysed how the pronunciation of names can influence impression formation and decision-making. In particular, they demonstrated “the name pronunciation effect,” which occurs when people with easy–to-pronounce names are evaluated more positively than those with difficult-to-pronounce names.

The study revealed that:

• People with more pronounceable names were more likely to be favoured for political office and job promotions

• Political candidates with easy-to-pronounce names were more likely to win a race than those without, based on a mock ballot study

• Attorneys with more pronounceable names rose more quickly to superior positions in their firm hierarchies, based on a field study of 500 first and last names of US lawyers

Lead author, Dr Simon Laham said subtle biases that we are not aware of affect our decisions and choices. “Research findings revealed that the effect is not due merely to the length of a name or how foreign-sounding or unusual it is, but rather how easy it is to pronounce,” he said.

Dr Adam Alter who conducted the law firm analysis said this effect probably also exists in other industries and in many everyday contexts. “People simply aren’t aware of the subtle impact that names can have on their judgments,” Dr Alter said. Dr Laham said the results had important implications for the management of bias and discrimination in our society. “It’s important to appreciate the subtle biases that shape our choices and judgments about others. Such an appreciation may help us de-bias our thinking, leading to fairer, more objective treatment of others,” he said. Researchers conducted studies both in lab settings and in a natural environment using a range of names from Anglo, Asian, and Western and Eastern European backgrounds.

This research builds on Dr Alter’s earlier work, which suggests that financial stocks with simpler names tend to outperform similar stocks with complex names immediately after they appear on the market.