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| FOCUS ON SODIUM |
Sodium chloride or salt is an essential nutrient. The human body needs sodium for the regulation of fluid balance, contraction of muscles, and the conduction of nerve impulses. As is usually the case, however, too much of a "good" thing can be less than healthy when it comes to nutrition. Diets high in salt and salted foods increase the risk of hyertension and therefore, stroke. Diets high in salt have also been associated with an increased risk of many cancers. High salt diets also strain the kidneys and make us feel bloated. The human adult needs 500-1000 milligrams of sodium per day, but the average American diet contains 2500-5000 milligrams per day. And, just one teaspoon of salt contains 2300 milligrams of sodium! In fact, a whopping 77% of the sodium intake in the American diet comes from processed food which is loaded with salt. Sodium Savvy Strategies Decreasing sodium intake is not that difficult! Aim for a sodium intake of 2300 milligrams of less each day. 1. Read those labels when available. -Sodium free means 5 milligrams or less of sodium per serving. -Very low sodium means 35 milligrams or less of sodium per serving -Low sodium means 140 milligrams or less 2. If you are browsing my website, that means you are Internet savvy...so take advantage of nutrition labels available online before you grocery shop. If you visit: www.peapod.com, you can access nutrition labels and plan ahead for sodium appropriate foods! Just start the online "shopping" process to access the nutrition labels. 3. For those who cannot stay away from fast food, you should at least check out the sodium content of foods online before you chow down. Visit: www.foodfacts.info/! Fast foods tend to be a fast route to excess dietary sodium so fast food eaters beware. 4. Replace salt in cooking with spices and herbs. By doing so, you are also increasing your intake of health enhancing compounds called phytochemicals. 5. Increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables which contain little sodium and have the added benefit of increasing your potassium and fiber intake. 6. Choose the fresh version of any food over the processed or canned counterpart. 7. Keep portion sizes reasonable as the sodium content of a food is directly proportionate to the serving size of the food! Makes sense, right? 8. Take advantage of reduced sodium foods. Your sodium intake can be decreased substantially by doing this. |
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Sue's favorite low sodium food products!
Low Sodium V8 Juice
Choose it over the standard
counterpart and you slash your
sodium intake almost 500
milligrams!
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Healthy Choice Old Fashion Chicken Noodle Soup Choose it over most other brands and slash your sodium intake by 650 milligrams per cup serving! |
Bumble Bee Very Low Sodium
Chunk White Albacore Tuna
In Water
Choose it over the standard tuna
and slash your sodium intake by
300 milligrams per serving!
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Frosted Mini Wheats This cereal is a good source of fiber and contains virtually no sodium! One drawback is the sugar content.
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Lean Cuisine Lasagna
Even though this individual frozen
meal contains 560 milligrams of
sodium, competitor lasagna frozen
dinners are yielding over 1100
milligrams of sodium per serving!
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Natural Oven Lo Carb Bread
Choose it and you will slash your
sodium intake over 100 milligrams
per slice compared to most other
brands! This savings can start to
add up!
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Sue's Book Pick of the MonthThe American Heart Association Low-Salt Cookbook (2nd Edition) by American Heart Association "This book is a great tool for providing great low-sodium recipes."
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