High Sodium Diet Risks – Are You Eating Too Much Salt?
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Sodium is a mineral. It is needed in the body to regulate fluids and blood pressure, and to keep muscles and nerves running smoothly. The main dietary soured of sodium is common tables sat (or sodium chloride, which is 40% sodium and 60% chloride). Regular unprocessed foods, such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, and many other also contain sodium.
What’s interesting is that we need only 250 mg of sodium per day for our bodies to function properly. This amount is easily supplied by sodium contained in natural foods. So, technically, we don’t really need to add table salt to our meals. But salt is the most popular seasoning and food without it just doesn’t taste quite as good.
The recommended amount of sodium for an adult is 1,500 mg per day and should not exceed 2,300 mg per day. Most people, however, consume much more sodium than that. On average an American adult consumes 4000 to 6000 mg of sodium a day. This number gets even higher for some Asian diets.
High sodium diet is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, or hypertension. High blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke, heart failure, and kidney problems. Hypertension affects about 50 million Americans – one in four adults.
Despite numerous warnings from the health care organizations about the risks of the high-sodium diet, we still consume too much sodium. Part of the problem is that many of us don’t realize that table salt is not the only source of sodium in the diet. There are also monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), and sodium benzoate (E211). Those chemicals are commonly used for flavorings and preservatives. As a result, some popular foods, such as canned vegetables, processed meats, frozen meals are much higher in sodium than we might expect.
Food might not even taste salty but still have high sodium content. Take cornflakes cereal, for example. A bowl of cornflakes cereal contains about the same amount of salt as a small package of plain chips.
How do reduce sodium intake in a diet?
• Read nutrition labels. Most pre-packaged foods have a Nutrition Facts table that shows the amount of sodium and percentage of the daily value. Buy foods with low (120 mg of sodium per 100 g) or reduced sodium content.
• Try using less table salt than suggested in a recipe.
• Add spices and herbs instead of salt to enhance the taste and flavor of the food.
• Do not keep salt shaker on the dining table. Don’t forget that 1 teaspoon contains about 6 grams of salt (2400 mg of sodium).
• Minimize the consumption of salty foods – pickles, olives, smoked salmon, salted snacks, etc.
• Limit the number of trips to the fast food and take-out restaurants – those meals have not only a lot of sodium, but also tons of saturated fat.
• Reduce the consumption of processed meats, such as sausages, bacon, ham, hot dog, and luncheon meats. Bacon, for example, contains about 2000 mg of sodium per 100 g.
• Avoid canned soups, vegetables and vegetable juices. Besides salt, they also contain high-sodium preservatives.
• Stay away from pre-packaged meals, such as frozen dinners.
• Minimize the consumption of sauces (especially soy sauce, tomato sauces, ketchup, mayonnaise), condiments (such as pickle relish), and dressings (use olive oil and balsamic vinegar instead).
• Choose healthy snacks, such as fruits, vegetables, unsalted nuts instead of chips and pretzels.
Test your sodium smarts. Take a quiz from the American Heart Association: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/quizTemplate.jsp?pid=ahaweb.quiz.quizintro&quizId=100001
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Source by Elena Parshuto