Lower sodium levels lead to better health; this is something doctors have been telling patients for years. However, the latest federal report paints a challenging picture about the American diet – nine out of every 10 adults in the U.S. consume to much sodium each day. The result? A spike in heart disease and strokes, while the food industry continues to max out sodium levels in foods.

Sodium Consumption in the United States

According to the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a recent study found that out of approximately 4000 people measured, only 9.6 percent of them had a daily sodium intake below the maximum amount.

With sodium rampant in processed foods and drinks, its very difficult for Americans to stay within recommended limits – especially when factoring in pizza, potato chips and other bite size snacks. According to the CDC, most high-sodium foods including grains and meats don't even taste salty, which further complicates the problem. Items measured included grains in high processed foods and grain-based frozen meals, soups and breads, as well as lunch meats and sausages, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) report.

“Sodium has become so pervasive in our food supply that it’s difficult for the vast majority of Americans to stay within recommended limits,” said Janelle Peralez Gunn, the lead author of the article and a public-health analyst at the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An estimated 77 percent of salt intake comes from processed and restaurant food, such as bread and grains, including products that may not taste salty, according to today’s report from the CDC.

Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine said, "Roughly 80 percent of the sodium we consume comes not from our own salt shakers, but from additions made by the food industry. The result of that is an average excess of daily sodium intake measured in hundreds and hundreds of milligrams, and an annual excess of deaths from heart disease and stroke exceeding 100,000."

Taking Control of Sodium Intake

The good news? New cases of heart disease could be reduced by as many as 120,000 per year, and strokes may be reduced by as many as 66,000 each year if all adults reduced sodium consumption by about half a teaspoon a day, according to the report.

Samantha Heller, dietitian, nutritionist and exercise physiologist, suggests a sodium intake of up to 2,300 mg/day for healthy folks and up to 1,500 mg/day for people with high blood pressure or who are middle-aged. One teaspoon of salt equals about 2,300 milligrams.

"Any reduction in dietary sodium is a move in the right direction," she added. "We can help ourselves by increasing our awareness of hidden sodium in foods and by reading food labels. Look for milligrams of sodium per serving, ignore the percent on the label, and checking the sodium in the foods served at restaurants."

Sodium raises blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes, according to the Atlanta-based CDC. The Institute of Medicine estimated that reducing sodium intake could prevent 100,000 deaths in the U.S. every year.