[Collins:] Food for thought this morning. Your favorite Chinese takeout may hide more fat and sodium than you realize. The Center for Science in the Public Interest is sounding the alarm in a report today, including the worst of the worst, Chicken in Black Bean Sauce. It's said to have 3,800 milligrams of sodium. That is equal to one and a half teaspoons of salt. Much more than you should have in a whole day. Chicken Chow Fun not so fun when you consider it, too, is high in sodium and loaded with 1,200 calories. Lots of fat also in unsuspecting places, like many like veggie dishes. But you don't have to give up the chopsticks entirely. You do, though, need to know what to avoid. I talked earlier with CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the study.
[Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Cnn Chief Medical Correspondent:] There's a lot of hidden dangers potentially in Chinese food. It doesn't have to be that way. Sort of focusing on the salt, though, it's pretty amazing. You only need about 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams of salt on any given day. Most Americans get anywhere between 4,000 or 5,000 milligrams, four or five grams of salt a day, way too much. The typical dishes, as you pointed out, are over 3,000 milligrams of sodium.
[Collins:] Wow.
[Gupta:] The most amazing thing, as well, is that's not even where most of our salt comes from. Most of our salt actually comes from processed foods, foods that you buy in stores. Seventy-five percent of the sodium you take in a day is probably in sources that you don't even recognize beverages, foods. Look at some of the labels sometimes. It's amazing. We are getting way too much salt.
[Collins:] Oh, it looks so good. I'm hungry. But...
[Gupta:] Come on, Heidi. Stay focused.
[Collins:] So, what is the effect on a person's body when you have too much salt? I mean, if you're a person with low blood pressure, you probably can have more, but that's not usually the norm.
[Gupta:] Yes. I mean, you know, the numbers are there for you know, 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams a pretty good reason. Even in young people who have no history of hypertension, they are starting to develop cumulative effects of what sodium does to the body. First of all, it causes you to retain fluids. So you may just start to swell.
[Collins:] Yes.
[Gupta:] And that doesn't look pretty. But more than that, when you have that much fluid in your body, your heart has to work harder to actually pump that fluid through. That can lead to hypertension. Your kidneys have to work harder as well to get rid of that fluid. And these are in people who are very young. Add up that cumulative effect over years, and you start to develop problems. Sodium does have some good effects. It helps transmit nerve impulses through the body, it helps maintains an ionic balance. It's an ion in the body. And it also maintains your fluid. Too much of it, though we're just getting way too much of it.
[Collins:] Yes. I didn't realize that salt could build up in your body, this cumulative effect that you're talking about.
[Gupta:] The cumulative effect of the heart pumping too hard and the kidneys having to filter all that fluid.
[Collins:] I see.
[Gupta:] Yes.
[Collins:] OK. So it does run through our bodies, but it can leave the damage behind. What about if it's just a special sort of treat that you have every now and then? Is that OK? Like chocolate cake?
[Gupta:] I'm not going to be the grim reaper on salt here. You know, you can have your chocolate cake and eat it, too.
[Collins:] Flour less.
[Gupta:] Right. Yes, exactly. But the point is, that if someone has hypertension, if they have heart disease, if they already have kidney problems or if they are someone who has actually had problems with too much salt in the past, get the significant swelling and the bloating. People talk about that a lot. If you've had that, you really want to watch out for those. You'll notice the effects pretty quickly afterwards.
[Collins:] OK. So I also made a comment when we talked to...
[Harris:] What did you say?
[Collins:] I said something about my dad. Because he used to...
[Harris:] You took a shot at Tom?
[Collins:] Yes. Because he put the salt on top of already salty foods. He brought an e-mail, I'm in trouble, he said, stop telling untruths about your dad. I no longer use any more than two grams of salt per day. And my blood pressure has dropped amazingly. Now 9464 all due to reduced salt. Because he used to be salt crazed, on everything before tasting it, the whole bit. Are you keeping up with his life, Heidi?
[Harris:] Of course, I am. I didn't know his blood pressure numbers. I don't know yours either. I've got your back, Tom.
[Collins:] Hey, to get your daily dose of health news online, you can always log on to our web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library of information on diet and fitness. The address, cnn.comhealth.
[Harris:] Among, our top stories this hour, D.C. Showdown. Just last hour a house subcommittee authorizing subpoenas for top White House advisers. Congress wants answers about the firings of eight federal prosecutors. Democrats have balked at the offer to have key White House advisers interviewed in private and oath free. And the president is vowing to stand firm, setting the stage for a fight that could go to the Supreme Court.
[Collins:] Global warming. Former Vice President Al Gore takes his environmental campaign to Capitol Hill. He's testifying right now before lawmakers, about global warming. Gore says the world faces a quote, "planetary emergency." And he says the momentum to do something about it is building.
[Al Gore, Fmr. Vice President:] We've been getting 100 new contacts per second in the last couple of days. We just started this a short time ago. This is building. And it's building in both parties. The faith communities, the evangelical communities, the business leaders, ten of the CEOs of the biggest corporations in America just the day before the State of the Union Address last month. Most of them in their personal lives have been supporters of President Bush. That's irrelevant to this issue. They had a press conference the day before the State of the Union Address calling on you to act. Adopt legislation. That will address this crisis. These are not normal times.
[Collins:] Gore getting a warm reception from Democrats who support his position, but he is likely to face tough questions from skeptics.
[Harris:] A missing scout safe and sound this morning back with his family. Michael Auberry was rescued yesterday. So how did the 12-year-old make it through three nights in the cold North Carolina mountains on his own and scared? He found a way to survive. The Boy Scout told his father that he slept in tree branches. That kept him off the cold ground. He also wore two jackets, one of them fleece. That helped hold off the elements. Temperatures were in the 20s some nights. Michael's mess kit was found not far from the campsite. So he had no food for the bulk of the time he was in the woods. He says he drank creek water to keep going and hoped he wouldn't get sick. But that wasn't completely effective. When rescuers found him, Michael was dehydrated and needed an IV. But after a few granola bars, amazing curing powers here, and the chicken fingers, Michael was in much better spirits. His dad says Michael's biggest worry now, make up work at school.
[Collins:] Michael was found with the help of volunteers including some of the four-legged variety. One in particular, leading rescuers to a welcome discovery. The dog's owner told us all about it earlier, on
[American Morning. Misha Marshall, Dog Handler:] Michael turned out to be upwind of us. So Gandalf picked up his scent and worked us into where Michael was. We came around the bend and he was about 50 yards to our left, up a fairly steep incline. They'll turn their head in the direction that they're catching the scent. So he looked left about three times. So I knew he was interested in something. So that kind of puts you on alert. After that, he kind of took us in. We do it for what happened yesterday. We train quite a bit. All the people out there helped find Michael. I was just one part of it. And I can't express how much search and rescue volunteers help. And that's what we go out there with a positive attitude that we're going to find the person we're looking for.
[Collins:] Amazingly, this was the first search and rescue mission for Gandalf. In case you're wondering, he's a shiloh shepherd.
[Harris:] You are in the NEWSROOM this morning. And when we come back, a spoof tries to demonize a presidential candidate.
[Unidentified Female:] I hope you've learned a little bit more about what I'm believing and trying to do. And really help this conversation about our country get started.
[Harris:] So who's behind this explosive internet only spot? "1984" collides with 2008 in the
[Newsroom. Collins:] And, a twisted new tactic for Iraqi insurgents. Kids in cars as decoys. The children are killed when the insurgents blow up the vehicles. The story in the NEWSROOM.