Sodium surplus: Shake the habit for better health. You've been trying to eat less sodium — just a pinch of table salt to your baked potato and a dash to your scrambled eggs. But a pinch and a dash can quickly add up to unhealthy levels of sodium, especially when many foods already contain more than enough sodium. About 11 percent of the sodium in the average U.S. diet comes from adding salt or other sodium-containing condiments to foods while cooking or eating. But the majority of the sodium — 77 percent — comes from eating prepared or processed foods that contain the mineral.
So even though you may limit salt that you add to food, the food itself may already be high in sodium. To lower your sodium intake, find out how much sodium you really need, what high-sodium foods to avoid, and ways to prepare and serve foods without added salt or sodium. Sodium:
Essential in small amounts. Your body needs some sodium to function properly.
Helps maintain the right balance of fluids in your body
Helps transmit nerve impulses
Influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles
Your kidneys regulate the amount of sodium kept in your body. When sodium levels are low, your kidneys conserve sodium. When levels are high, they excrete the excess amount in urine.
If your kidneys can't eliminate enough sodium, the sodium starts to accumulate in your blood. Because sodium attracts and holds water, your blood volume increases. Increased blood volume, in turn, makes your heart work harder to move more blood through your blood vessels, increasing pressure in your arteries. Congestive heart failure, cirrhosis and chronic kidney disease can all lead to an inability to regulate sodium.
What are the common sources of sodium? Watch for both natural and added sodium content. Ordinary table salt is sodium chloride — 40 percent sodium by weight. Encourage your patients to read the labels when they buy prepared and packaged foods. They should watch for the words "soda" (soda refers to sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda) and "sodium" and the symbol "Na" on labels. These products contain sodium compounds.
Some drugs contain large amounts of sodium. Have your patients make a habit of carefully reading the ingredient list on the label of all over-the-counter drugs and the warning statement to see if sodium is in the product. A statement of sodium content must appear on labels of antacids containing 5 mg or more per dosage unit (tablet, teaspoon, etc.). Some companies now make low-sodium over-the-counter products.Most spices contain sodium in very small amounts. What foods help reduce sodium in the diet?
Choose fresh, frozen or canned food items without added salts.
Select unsalted nuts or seeds, dried beans, peas and lentils.
Avoid adding salt and canned vegetables to homemade dishes.
Select unsalted, fat-free broths, bouillons or soups.
Select fat-free (skim) or low-fat milk; low-sodium, low-fat cheeses; and low-fat yogurt.
When dining out, be specific about what you want and how you want it prepared. Ask for your dish to be prepared without salt.
Learn to use spices and herbs to enhance the taste of your food.
Sodium facts
Salt is sodium chloride. About 40 percent of salt is sodium and 60 percent chloride.
One level teaspoon of salt = 5.5 g = 2,132 mg of sodium.
Removing the salt shaker from the table is one good way of reducing sodium intake.
People who salt most foods prior to tasting are considered heavy salters. When a high level of sodium is eaten regularly it is difficult to taste low amounts of salt. The high level of sodium in the saliva appears to interfere with tasting the salt. When the salt is lowered in the diet for awhile the ability to taste lower levels of salt appears to return.
When reading labels for sodium content, look for salt, sodium, monosodium glutamate and sodium added to words like benzoate, etc.
Sodium may be present in medicines such as aspirin. It may be present in some foods and not listed on the label, like mayonnaise.
Salt substitutes should not be used unless prescribed by a physician. People with certain medical problems might not be able to use every kind.
Softened water contains varying amounts of sodium since water softeners work by exchanging sodium for minerals in the water. It is better, therefore, not to use softened water for drinking and cooking purposes because of the sodium content.
Ninety to 95 percent of the sodium in the body is secreted through the kidneys. Small amounts are lost through sweat.
When a person sweats a great deal because of exercising in hot weather, sodium and water may be lost to a larger extent than normal. Salt tablets are not recommended since they are too concentrated and slow the absorption of water from intestines into the body. A little extra salt on food usually is sufficient for the athlete. Replacing water during exercise, however, is very important.
When pregnant a little extra sodium is needed, but the increased food eaten probably will supply it. It is unwise to reduce salt below a normal range during pregnancy unless special circumstances exist.
Spices, whose names end in "salt," like garlic salt and celery salt, are high in sodium. The following spices and flavorings are examples of those low in sodium that may be added to foods to enhance the taste:
Bay leaf
Garlic
Mint
Pepper
Curry
Ginger
Onions
Pinch of sugar
Dry mustard
Herbs
Paprika
Rosemary
Fruit
Lemon
Parsley
Tomatoes
Some people are more sensitive to the effects of sodium than are others. People who are sodium-sensitive retain sodium more easily, leading to excess fluid retention and increased blood pressure. If you're in that group, extra sodium in your diet increases your chance of developing high blood pressure, a condition that can lead to cardiovascular and kidney diseases.
Healthy American adults should reduce their sodium intake to no more than 2300 milligrams per day. This is about 1 teaspoon of sodium chloride (salt). To illustrate, the following are sodium equivalents in the diet.
1/4 teaspoon salt = 600 mg sodium 1/2 teaspoon salt = 1200 mg sodium 3/4 teaspoon salt = 1800 mg sodium 1 teaspoon salt = 2400 mg sodium 1 teaspoon baking soda = 1000 mg sodium
Estimated safe ranges of sodium for healthy people*:
Find the foods you ate or a reasonable substitute on the following charts. Write down the milligrams (mg) of sodium present in the food you ate. Add the milligrams. Compare with the range of sodium in the chart above for your age.
Plan which foods you need to eat for the rest of the day to stay within your sodium range, or plan for tomorrow if you prefer.
The sodium ranges were reproduced from: Recommended Dietary Allowances, Ninth Edition, 1980, The National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. *People on a special low sodium diet may need lower levels of sodium than mentioned above and should follow their doctor's directions.
Why do food manufacturers add so much salt to processed foods? There are so many other excellent food preservation methods available. Salt (sodium chloride) helps prevent spoiling by drawing water out of the food and depriving bacteria of the moisture they need to thrive. Salt is also an antibacterial agent, killing some bacteria that cause food spoiling. At one time, salting was one of the only methods available to help preserve food. But today food manufacturers have many other methods. These include pasteurization, refrigeration and freezing, and dehydration and freeze-drying, irradiation and chemical preservatives. Each of these newer procedures has resulted in the need for less salt in foods — and in some cases, no salt.
So why is salt still added to processed foods? Here are some reasons:
Salt makes food more flavorful.
Salted foods such as soups seem thicker and less watery.
Salt increases sweetness in products such as soft drinks, cookies and cakes.
Salt helps cover up any metallic or chemical aftertaste in products such as soft drinks.
Salt decreases dryness in foods such as crackers and pretzels.
Most Americans consume more than double the recommended daily amount of sodium — due in part to a heavy diet of processed foods. To reduce sodium in your diet:
Eat fewer processed foods such as potato chips, frozen dinners and cured meats.
Choose low-sodium or reduced-sodium foods.
Don't add salt to your food. Instead, use herbs and spices to flavor foods.
Eat more unprocessed, fresh foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, poultry, fish and unprocessed grains.
