Not even my mother nags me about what I eat as much as New York City does.

First it was a war on trans fats which, up until now, were banned from consumption within the city limits.  Then, there were the calorie counts added to the menus that I was all for – until I walked into a Dunkin Donuts to buy snacks for a meeting and almost left in tears.

Now, the newest war on food that the New York City Department of Health is taking on is salt.

Lovely, glorious, taste-making salt.

Approximately 74-million Americans suffer from high blood pressure.  Lowering sodium intake is a key element in treating hypertension, and New York City doesn’t trust it’s citizens to do that on their own.  The health department is taking matters into their own hand and will be meeting with restaurants and companies that produce processed foods to ask them to cut the salt.

Companies like, Campbell’s Soup Co., who are meeting with NYC health officials, have said that they’ve been lowering salt content for years, but it’s not easy, there’s no substitute for salt.  Unlike trans fats, human beings need sodium in their diet, so eliminating it completely can be just as dangerous as having too much of it.

What are your thoughts?

Should New York City butt out of our eating choices, or is it about time the government did something about what goes into our food supply?