A new study claims that the addition of a few herbs and spices to most meals may help decrease the amount of salt people consume on a daily basis.

“At this time in our history, individuals have to take very dramatic and drastic action in order to accomplish [sodium] guidelines,” Cheryl Anderson, associate professor in the department of family and preventive medicine at the University of California San Diego, told FoxNews.com.

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend a daily sodium intake of less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day for people over age 2. But over half of the U.S. population should strive for no more than 1,500 mg of sodium intake each day, according to the guidelines. 

The researchers enrolled 55 volunteers in their study, providing them with a full diet of low-sodium foods and drinks for four weeks. More than 60 percent of the study participants had high blood pressure, 18 percent had diabetes and all were overweight.

After four weeks, all of the individuals successfully reduced their sodium intake from an average of 3,450 mg/day to an average of 1,656 mg/day.

In phase two of the study, half of the study participants were given simple brochures instructing them how to eat a low sodium diet at home. The other half were enrolled in a 20-week behavioral intervention program with the goal of reducing their sodium intake to 1,500 mg a day – using spices and herbs to flavor food.

The intervention group also received counseling on how to eat at restaurants with friends and how to get back on track after they experienced a dietary relapse.

Overall, both the intervention group and the brochure group experienced an increase in overall sodium intake in the second phase of the study, compared to the first phase of the study.  However, the intervention group experienced less of an increase and consumed an average of 966 mg less sodium a day than the non-intervention group.

The study’s results were presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology & Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Scientific Sessions 2014.