Salt, a tasty killer? The CDC's VitalSigns today has a new report this month that warns Americans that 90% of us are eating too much sodium in our diet—and the number one source of that sodium, as they say on the 10 o'clock news shows, might surprise you. That's because the answer is bread. Yup, the lowly loaf you bought last night is currently sitting in your kitchen, plotting your demise. more ›

New York City has been waging a war on salt for a while, offering up statistics showing that we're mostly depraved saltaholics. Reiterating this point for the United Nations, Department of Health Commissioner Thomas Farley says, "Having a high-salt diet really does substantially increase your risk of heart disease and stroke," noting that 1,000 New Yorkers die every year from a high-salt diet. However, 500 of those deaths could be prevented if people just ate more fruits and vegetables. more ›

"Doctors" say you should watch your salt intake, because the "deaths attributable to excess sodium intake represent a huge toll—the equivalent of a jumbo jet with more than 400 adults crashing every day of the year, year after year." This is especially relevant because the average New Yorker eats twice the daily recommended dosage of sodium. But what if we told you there was a way to turn that jumbo jet of death into a Highway to Heaven? A new study from Exeter University in the UK shows that "eating less salt will not prevent heart attacks, strokes, or early death." Hooray, studies are always right! more ›

We know that New Yorkers are a bunch of slobbering salt monsters who can strip the crystals off a Super Pretzel faster than you can say "hypertension." But don't prisoners deserve a modicum of salt to take the pain away of you know, being in prison? Mayor Bloomberg apparently disagrees: buried in his much decried budget is a provision that would slash $350K from the Corrections Department's food budget, the Daily News reports. Can't we give the salt demonizing a rest since it doesn't even give you heart disease? more ›

The NYC Health Department is hitting back at a new study that seems to contradict the consensus that a low-sodium diet reduces the risk of heart disease. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed 3,681 people for an average of eight years and determined that those with the lowest sodium in their urine had the highest rate of deadly heart disease! There were 50 heart disease deaths in the low-sodium group, compared to 10 deaths in the higher-sodium group. Salt: The key to a healthy heart? more ›

It starts in college, when someone passes around a salt lick at a party and you decide to "experiment." Fast forward to turning tricks behind the truck stop for a handful of salt packets, getting ejected from gyms for licking the sweat off Nautilus machines, and asking the Internet if you made a big mistake eating a salt packet you found in a shoe box. That innocent-looking Morton's salt girl? She's a devilish temptress who's enslaved millions, and here in New York she's got an army of sad saltaholics in her grip. According to officials leading the War on Salt, New Yorkers are eating twice as much salt as they should! more ›

Mayor Bloomberg's crusade to cut NYC and America's salt intake has gained some powerful new allies. Earlier this year, Heinz and Starbucks were among the first 16 companies who pledged to voluntarily slash the amount of sodium in their products, as part of the city Health Department's National Salt Reduction Initiative. The initiative's goal is to reduce sodium in restaurant and packaged foods by 25 percent over five years, with the voluntary cooperation of national and international companies. Now six more companies have joined forces with Bloomberg, including Butterball, which has agreed to reduce sodium in its deli meat and hot dogs. more ›

At least it's not as gross as the fat soda! As part of a new campaign to urge consumers to consider their salt intake, the Department of Health is kicking off a two-month long anti-salt campaign. New posters show salt pouring out of soup cans, and say that too much salt can lead to heart attack and stroke. “Excess sodium greatly increases the chance of developing hypertension, which can lead to heart disease and stroke," Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said in a statement. "While consumers can always add salt to food to taste, they can’t take it out. This campaign is geared toward educating consumers to pay attention to the amount of salt in the foods they buy." However, not everyone is happy about the campaign. more ›

As we learned in Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky, the market for "gourmet salts" has been a pretty recent phenomenon, but quick to take hold. Not everyone's impressed by the uniform cubes of table salt anymore. Pair that with a national crackdown on salt intake and you've got a backlash of pure salt fetishism. Enter The Meadow, the city's newest salt emporium. more ›

Click on the film stills above for more details and reviews on this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include: Salt, Countdown To Zero, Life During Wartime, Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, Farewell, Mugabe and the White African, Ramona and Beezus, Spoken Word, andCheech and Chong's Nice Dreams. more ›

Our state government in Albany may not be able to pass a budget within one, two or three months, but our pork barrel spending is unparalleled. So unparalleled that chase scenes in the upcoming Angelina spy thriller Salt were filmed in Albany: Director Phillip Noyce told NBC Los Angeles that even though one sequence is set in D.C., Albany was a terrific substitute, "Due to excessive pork barreling over the years, the capital of New York has built up the most elaborate freeway system you have ever seen," and mentioned "one overpass to nowhere which just stopped... It was really convenient to one (movie) sequence. It's a tragedy (for taxpayers) but great for filming." more ›

Maybe Russian intelligence agent Anna Chapman has already sold her story, since we've had a growing suspicion that this whole ordeal has just been an elaborate viral marketing campaign for Angelina Jolie's upcoming spy thriller, Salt. The timing is just too perfect! Chapman, the attractive NYC party girl who passed information to Russian officials, shares a life story which eerily resembles the movie's plot, in which Jolie plays suspected Russian sleeper agent Evelyn Salt. Even they've got to realize the similarities, as the NY Post reports that Jolie has now asked local promoters to invite Chapman to the film's Moscow premiere next week. There's just one slight kink: Chapman's location is unknown. more ›

At the Fancy Food show going on at the Javits Center, industry workers talked a big game about not listening to Mayor Bloomberg's initiative to lower salt content in foods. "People like it the way it is. We see no reason to mess with a good thing," said one steak seasoning vendor. "I don't want a chip that tastes like paint." said the purveyor of Buffalo Wing Chips with Blue Cheese Drizzle (fancy food indeed). But beneath the bravado, many industry folk seemed to be quietly pushing products that won't cause as much hypertension. more ›

Citing health trends (demands?), Heinz said it would reduce the amount of salt in its ketchup recipe. The Post reports, "Company officials have taste tested the new blend and believe it will be as popular as their old recipe, which has a 60 percent share of the ketchup market." But that seems like a bunch of catsup to one Bay Ridge devotee with decades of Heinz consumption under his belt, "I'm so used to the ketchup the way it is -- why would they change it? I'm 80 years old, and I haven't died yet. It's really hard for me to eat without salt. I think it's infringing on our rights!" more ›

Mayor Bloomberg is adding baby-back ribs to his list of no-nos, saying that the next day you sit down for a delicious full rack at Outback Steakhouse could be your last. On his radio show, the Mayor pointed out that a full rack of ribs from the chain is 2,000 calories and contains 2,600 milligrams of sodium, and said, "It's going to kill you." He did backpedal a bit, saying "We all do things that aren't good for us," and admitted everyone could indulge in a plate every once in a while without dying. Just don't get him started on Bloomin' Onions... more ›

Now that Bloomberg's salt-reduction initiative is rolling, the FDA will soon introduce a salt attack of their own. Though it hasn't been formally announced, the Washington Post reports that the FDA is planning a 10-year initiative that would eventually lead to a legal limit on the amount of salt allowed in processed food. One source said, "This is not rolling off a log. We're talking about a comprehensive phase-down of a widely used ingredient. We're talking about embedded tastes in a whole generation of people." more ›

Assemblyman Felix Ortiz brought the ruckus last week when the media caught wind of his proposal to fully ban "the use of salt by restaurants in the preparation of food." The anti-salt assault prompted such a backlash (even nanny Bloombeg thought he went too far!) that Ortiz, a Democrat whose district includes Sunset Park, has now backed away from the bill, and is advocating a more moderate salt-reduction policy. "My intention for this legislation was to prohibit the use of salt as an additive to meals," Ortiz said in a statement. "If salt is a functional component of the recipe, by all means, it should be included." Nevertheless, there's a sharp contrast between Ortiz's stated intent and what he actually put in the bill. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg loves ladling out diet tips, but he's not about to give up his salty hot sausages. The Post reports that on his weekly radio show he called a recent proposal to ban salt in restaurants “ridiculous.” "You have to have salt when you cook," observed the mayor. "I do. I use too much salt already myself. But also it makes a lot of foods, the way you cook them and bake them—salt is a real ingredient. So I don't think that's the right thing to do." more ›

Back in January, health crusader Mayor Bloomberg launched a "voluntary" initiative encouraging fast food joints like Subway and supermarket chains like Food Emporium to cut the salt in hundreds of store brand products. The Salt Institute was outraged, Curtis Sliwa drank salt in protest, and panicked New Yorkers began hoarding salt in earnest (not really). But the initiative was voluntary, and lacked a certain, shall we say, despotism. Well, according to Reason's blog, NY Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) is kicking it up a notch by proposing a law fully banning "the use of salt by restaurants in the preparation of food." Now that's some hardcore legislating, or should we say legisalting? (Sorry.) more ›

Just before noon yesterday a huge explosion sent fireballs up an historic landmark building in the Flatiron District, on 6th Avenue and 20th Street. WCBS reports that the explosion could have been caused by Wednesday's storm, with melting snow and salt working its way into an electrical vault on the building's exterior. FDNY Deputy Chief James Daly told them, "We've been running on manholes all night since the storm started. So it's a likely culprit." more ›

In response to the Health Department's new salt reduction initiative, the Times ordered some food from local restaurants and sent it off to a Long Island lab for sodium testing. What they found may not shock you: A Double ShackBurger, fries and a peanut butter shake from Shake Shack contain 1,980 milligrams of sodium. Two slices of Cajun bacon-cheeseburger pizza from Two Boots clock in at 2,240 milligrams. But the saltiest of them all is the corned beef sandwich from Katz's Deli, which contains 4,490 milligrams of sodium. Considering that the FDA recommends a maximum of 2,400 milligrams of sodium per day, "having what she's having" might just leave you with hypertension. more ›

He came for our cigarettes, he came for our sugar, but Bloomberg's new National Salt Reduction Initiative has got New Yorkers pissed. During NY1's "Political Rundown" last night, Guardian Angel Curtis Sliwa and co-host Gerson Borrero locked horns over the issue, which resulted in Sliwa pouring Morton's down his throat and declaring "You're gonna have to pry this salt out of my cold, dead hand." He keeps it in his mouth for at least a minute before most likely spitting it out, but either way, he's still alive. Watch the full video here. The salt clip starts around 9:10, complete with "nazi" accusations and Sliwa confusing Borrero for a Mexican. more ›

Another day, another Bloomberg health initiative: This time it's salt's turn in the mayor's crosshairs. Today the city is launching a broad new effort to reduce the amount of salt in packaged and restaurant food by 25 percent over the next five years. Unlike Bloomberg's controversial calorie count law, the plan is voluntary for food companies and involves no legislation. (It's hoped that companies will cut salt so gradually that consumers won't even notice.) Food Emporium and Subway have already pledged their allegiance to the anti-salt crusade, but naturally the Salt Institute (yes, there is such a thing) is fuming. more ›

Is Mayor Bloomberg's crusade to turn New Yorkers into healthy eaters really just a product of his own struggles with self-control, roller coaster dieting and poor body image? It turns out that the man who has banned trans fats, made us face calorie count signs on a daily basis and now has his squinty eyes aimed at sodium levels in restaurants and sugary soda drinks is the type of guy that "an unflattering photo of himself can trigger weeks of intense dieting and crankiness." more ›

There's been chatter of a giant salt pile growing over at the Red Hook Marine Terminal, and word is there's an emergency meeting regarding the nuisance tonight. A reader residing on the Columbia Street waterfront in Brooklyn told us, "Salt is flying all over the neighborhood as trucks ride on top of it 24hrs a day. Everyone's cars, apartments (if your windows are open), bikes, and yards now have a salty film on them. Breathing in our neighborhood cannot be healthy, and many neighbors have developed a cough and talk about the constant salty taste in their mouths." Allegedly no one addressed the community about the pile, and now 311 has been bombarded with calls complaining about it, especially after the tarp was removed in recent months. more ›

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There were multiple manhole fires around the city, thanks to the mix of snow (from Mother Nature), salt (to melt the snow), and cables (underground). WCBS 2 reports "hundreds were forced out into the cold" yesterday, and FDNY Battalion Chief Kevin Loughran said, "How did the fire start in the manhole? Probably arcing from the salt and the wet wire. The insulation probably wore off." One of the fires was at the Upper West Side youth hostel at 104th & Amsterdam. Over 200 tourists had to evacuate, though they were able to board buses and drink hot cocoa, according to the Post. The fire was put out, but one Australian tourist was slightly disappointed, "I didn't have any burly firemen rescue me. I feel left out." more ›

How many trees have to die before someone does something about Olafur Eliasson’s waterfalls? Earlier this month the Parks Department and the Public Art Fund admitted that the salty East River spray from the Brooklyn Bridge waterfall was making the leaves on trees at the River Cafe in DUMBO go prematurely brown. Now the Brooklyn Paper reports that the trees at the Brooklyn Heights Promenade are suffering from the same affliction, brought on by the salt slowing photosynthesis. Officials have assured tree-huggers that the spray from what BP calls Eliasson's "four-headed killing machine" doesn't pose any "long-term danger," but the way things are going, it's only a matter of time before some Earth First! activists start climbing up the falls to try and hang protest banners. more ›

Here's one of our favorite munchies, a healthy(ish) and interesting snack to add to your game plan for Sunday. It's also quick and easy enough to whip up during the commercials. more ›