How Do I Avoid Salt and Sodium?

Question: How Do I Avoid Salt and Sodium?

Answer: Salt has been use to flavor and preserve foods for thousands of years and even had a great effect on the economies of various empires. Today, you probably have a shaker of salt on your table and in the kitchen pantry.

The problem with salt is that it contains sodium, and eating too much sodium may contribute to increased blood pressure, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and it may lead to fluid retention and bloating. Decreasing the amount of sodium in your diet may help to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level.

One teaspoon of salt has about 2,300 milligrams sodium. Just one-quarter teaspoon has 580 milligrams and a dash of salt has around 150 milligrams.

While salt is a major source of sodium, many processed foods are high in sodium, too. Canned foods, frozen meals, cured meats and many snack foods contain outrageous amounts of sodium. So to keep your intake down, you need to put away your salt shaker and read the Nutrition Facts labels when you shop.

How Much Is Too Much?

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010, these groups of people should be limiting their sodium intake to less than 1,500 milligrams (mg) per day:

• African Americans
• Diabetics
• People with high blood pressure
• People with kidney disease
• Everyone over the age of fifty

The rest of us should stay under 2,300 mg per day.

You'll find sodium in most butter or margarine, milk, bread and other staple foods. Look for these ingredients on the label:

• Monosodium glutamate
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Disodium phosphate
• Sodium alginate
• Sodium nitrate or nitrite

Frozen dinners usually have more than 500 milligrams sodium, however frozen vegetables have less than 5.0 milligrams sodium if they don't contain any sauce. Soy sauce is also high in sodium -- one tablespoon has over 900 milligrams.

Is Unrefined Sea Salt Good For You?

Regular table salt comes from salt mines, is purified and often has iodine -- an additive that wiped out the iodine deficiency disorders that were more common in the early 20th century. Unrefined sea salts are made from ocean water and contain a minuscule amount of additional minerals that add flavor (and sometimes color) to the salt. Some people claim that unrefined sea salts are good for your health and should not be restricted from your diet, but there is no scientific evidence to back these claims. You can choose sea salt for the flavor, but don't expect any other health benefits.

Your body needs some sodium so you don't want to eliminate all sodium from your diet (that would be almost impossible, anyway), but Here are some ways to cut back:

• Read food labels and choose foods that are low in sodium.
• Choose fresh or frozen vegetables rather than canned.
• Avoid lunch meats and cured meats.
• Buy unsalted nuts and snacks.
• Eliminate salt from your recipes.
• If you choose canned vegetable or legumes, rinse them thoroughly with water.
• Try salt substitutes made with potassium.

You can also experiment with herbs and spices. Look at the ingredients label when you shop for spice blends because sometimes they have salt as an ingredient.

_Sources:

_{American Heart Association. "Sodium." Accessed January 13, 2011. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4708}

_{Gropper SS, Smith JL, Groff JL. "Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism." Fourth Edition. Belmont, CA. Wadsworth Pub Co. 2005.}

_{United States Department of Health and Human Services. "Dietary Guidelines for Americans - 2005." Accessed January 13, 2011. http://www.health.gov/DietaryGuidelines/dga2005/document/default.htm}