The amount of salt in Canadians' diets has gotten out of hand, says a coalition of 17 Canadian health groups and professional associations who are demanding action to reduce sodium levels in food.

The groups, including the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Medical Association, and the Canadian Diabetes Association, say cutting the amount of salt Canadians eat every day would save lives and reduce disability from stroke and heart disease.

According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian consumes in excess of 3,100 mg of sodium a day -- about two teaspoons. Men eat more sodium than women: about 4,100 mg a day, compared to 2,900 mg a day for women. Even young children consume a high amount, says Statistics Canada: children aged one to three average close to 2,000 mg a day.

Health Canada and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (Institute of Medicine) say the "tolerable upper intake levels" for sodium range from 1,500 to 2,200 milligrams a day for children aged one to three, to a maximum of 2,300 mg for people aged 14 or older.

The coalition of health groups wants to achieve the goal of getting Canadians within the healthy range of intake of 1,200 and 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day by 2020.

The vast majority of the excess sodium that Canadians consume is not added through the household salt shaker, but is hidden in processed and fast foods.

Statistics Canada reports that even people who say they "never" add salt to their food average 2,927 mg of sodium a day, suggesting they are getting most of that sodium through the packaged foods they eat.

A relatively small grouping of foods accounts for close to a third of all the sodium Canadians consumed in 2004, reports StatsCan. Pizza, sandwiches, submarines, hamburgers and hot dogs represented 19 per cent of sodium intake, followed by soups (seven per cent) and pasta dishes (six per cent).

"You hate to always point the finger at fast foods, but if you tend to go and get a meat and cheese breakfast sandwich on bread, you're probably consuming about 1,800 milligrams of salt," Sally Brown, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, told CTV Newsnet.

In a National Sodium Policy statement, the coalition urges the federal government to:

• Set graduated targets for sodium levels according to food categories;
• Monitor and report on progress by 2012 and 2016
• Establish effective monitoring systems to track sodium levels in the diets of Canadians
• Educate Canadians on the health risks of high dietary sodium and how to reduce consumption
• Provide incentives to the food industry
• Ensure health professionals understand the need to reduce dietary sodium and educate their membership about health risks and how to reduce intake

Phyllis Tanaka, the director of food and nutrition policy at Food & Consumer Products of Canada says it will take time to reformulate foods and devise recipes that consumers don't perceive as "bland."

"We are here to be part of the solution. We recognize that dietary sodium increases the risk of hypertension," she says.

Later in the day Thursday, Minister of Health Tony Clement announced the creation of an expert Sodium Working Group. The group will be charged with exploring options for reducing sodium intake among Canadians.

"Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death for Canadians, and sodium intake is one of the largest controllable factors that contribute to these diseases," said Clement.

Invitations will be sent soon to stakeholders to take part in the working group, which is expected to meet by the end of the year to begin their work.

Cutting strokes by 30%

It's thought that lowering sodium consumption to optimal levels could reduce the incidence of stroke and heart disease by as much as 30 per cent.

"Increased blood pressure is the leading risk factor for death, causing most of the strokes and much of the heart disease our country faces," says Dr. Norm Campbell of Blood Pressure Canada.

"It is estimated that almost one in three Canadians who have hypertension would have normal blood pressure if there were less sodium in our food."

Dr. Kevin Willis, director of the Canadian Stroke Network, says it's time for food companies to "step up."

"If we discovered that a food additive was causing 30 per cent of all cancers, something would be done right away. The same action is needed with sodium to prevent stroke, heart disease and other vascular illnesses," he says.

The groups also note that recent research suggests that the health-care costs of treating the hypertension caused by excess dietary sodium is about $430 million a year. Almost 46 per cent of women and 38 per cent of men over age 60 are taking antihypertensive medications, they say.

Brown urges consumers to follow simple steps to ensure they're limiting their salt intake:

• Eat more fruits and vegetables.
• Limit your processed food intake.
• Read food labels, which will tell you much sodium is inside.
• Switch to low-sodium products.
• Never add salt to your food at a restaurant, where foods tend to be high in sodium already.
• Buy fresh produce and fresh meat.
• Avoid processed meats such as hams and bacon, which are loaded in salt.

"If you're going to make a chili at home, for instance, instead of buying canned chili," advised Brown, "rinse your chick peas, rinse your beans because there is salt in the water. There are things that you can do -- even when you buy processed food -- to reduce the amount of sodium you're getting."