NUTRITION

SODIUM and SALT

What are sodium and salt?
How much salt should I eat?
Stow-away salt
High salt/sodium foods to avoid
Tips to help avoid salt/sodium
Breaking through label lingo

What Are Sodium and Salt?

Sodium is a mineral that our body needs to function.  Our bodies don’t need that much sodium so it is important to watch how much sodium you eat.  You can control how much sodium you eat by watching your salt intake.  Salt is actually a combination of sodium and chloride.  Eating too much salt can lead to many health problems such as hypertension and heart disease. However, did you know – you can train your taste buds to like less salt!

How Much Salt Should I Eat?
The body only needs 500 mg of sodium each day to function properly.  Many Americans eat 9000 mg a day.  The American Heart Association recommends limiting salt/sodium to 2400 mg a day.

Stow-Away Salt
You may think you do not eat that much salt everyday, BUT salt adds up.  Even though foods do not taste salty, that does not mean salt has not been added to your food.  Here are some common salt traps:

• Using salt when cooking
• The salt shaker on the table, table salt
• Restaurant food
• In prepared and processed foods from the grocery store, especially canned soups, ice cream, cheese, etc
• As a natural preservative for meats and vegetables, especially canned products

High Salt/Sodium Foods to Limit – Unless They Are Low Salt/Sodium Versions
Salty meats like ham             Pretzels             Soy sauce
Canned or cured  meats       Chips                BBQ sauce
Lunch meat                          Crackers           Salad dressings
Hot dogs                              Popcorn           Catsup/Mustard
Processed cheese                 Salted nuts        Canned soup

Tips to Help Avoid Salt/Sodium
1.  Do not use or add salt when cooking.
2.  Use salt-less seasonings, spices and herbs when cooking.  Use onion powder instead of onion salt, garlic powder instead
     of garlic salt. (See SEASONINGS for more tips)
3.  Take the salt shaker off the table so it will not tempt you to add salt to your food.
4.  Pick fresh meats or deli meats, especially try more chicken and turkey.
5.  Buy fresh or frozen vegetables.  They contain less salt.
6.  Rinse canned vegetables with water and then cook in water and your own salt-less seasonings.
7.  Read the food labels and look for the word sodium.  Then pick the foods with lower amounts.

Breaking Through Label Lingo
With all the craze for being healthier and buying healthier foods, it can be confussing trying to find foods that are low in sodium and salt.  Most foods are available in lower sodium versions.  Picking healthier foods is easy, just look for the following terms on food packages.

• Sodium-Free = Contains 5 mgs or less of sodium per serving
• Very-Low Sodium = 35 mgs or  less of sodium per serving
• Low- Sodium = 140 mgs or less of  sodium per serving
• Reduced Sodium = At least 25% less sodium than the original version of the product
• No added salt or Unsalted = No salt has been added during processing.  This does not neccessarily mean the product is  sodium-free, some food has sodium natrually.