NEW YORK — New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — who is known to shake salt on his pizza — is focusing on sodium as the next unhealthy enemy in his crusade to coax people into eating better.
Bloomberg’s health department has already banned trans fats in restaurant meals and forced chain eateries to post calorie counts on menus. Monday, the city set guidelines recommending maximum amounts of salt for a variety of restaurant and store-bought foods, with the goal of cutting salt levels in food by a quarter overall in five years.
“I use a lot of salt,” Bloomberg admitted Monday. Despite any personal eating habits he may have, the mayor is fixated on nutrition as a public health concern.
“We’re trying to extend the lives and improve the lives of people who live in this city,” he said.
Unlike the city’s trans-fat ban and calorie-count rule, the salt initiative is voluntary.
Health officials say Americans now eat about twice the amount of salt they should. Too much sodium contributes to high blood pressure, which can cause heart attack and stroke.
