Happy Halloween! We all enjoy some good Halloween candy every now and then, ( I know I do!) But The American Heart Association is urging Americans to cut down on sodium and double up on fruit and veggies!!

National Eating Healthy Day is Wednesday November 5th, and the American Heart Association wants people to pledge to reduce their sodium intake in these two simple steps: take the sodium pledge at www.heart.org/sodium and increase their vegetable and fruit consumption! In Cleveland National Eating Healthy Day is being celebrated by visiting the lunchroom at Cleveland City Hall between 11:00a.m. and 1:00p.m. with “Salt”, the character, to rid City Hall of added sodium.

For those who are unaware, I was too before reading this,  Americans typically consume about half their recommended intake of fruits and veggies, and twice the recommended daily salt intake! It is recommended that we should be eating 8 or more fruit and vegetable servings, and no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium. Too much of a good thing (sodium) in the diet can increase the risk for high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and other major health problems! The awareness campaign, which includes the website mentioned above, is an online pledge to help people commit to reducing their sodium intake. The site also features a blog, sodium quiz and infographics, links to recipes, and educational articles.

Limiting salt in the bigger picture- is an important goal of the campaign. That is because 75% of Americans’ sodium consumption is from processed, prepackaged, and restaurant foods- not the salt shaker. In order to make the difference in the health of all Americans, we must reduce sodium in the food supply through the support of food manufacturers, food processors and the restaurant industry!

To download the resource guide for this event, or to find recipes and other nutrition information, you can also visit:

http://www.heart.org/NationalEatingHealthyDay

For more information, stay tuned to TV20: We Are Cleveland!