5 Easy Tips to Reduce Sodium in Your Diet
Most of us end up eating a lot more sodium
than we should. Yes, sodium is an essential nutrient and our body does
need a little bit of salt every day to function properly. However, too
much salt is harmful to the body, as excessive salt consumption is
linked to the development of high blood pressure, heart disease, and
stroke.
Reducing sodium in your everyday diet can
definitely help keep your blood pressure stable. Thankfully, you can
easily cut down on your sodium intake, and you don’t even have to make
lots of diet changes. The fact is, we can easily get around 75% of our
daily salt intake from everyday foods like soups, tomato sauce,
breakfast cereal, and canned goods. So you don’t necessarily need to add
salt to your food just out of habit. Some foods even taste better
without it.
If you’re looking for ways to cut down on your sodium intake, these tips
will help.
1. Understand your sodium limit
Before you decided to cut back on your salt
intake, it’s important to know what your optimal sodium intake should
be. According to the American Heart Association, an ideal limit of
sodium should be no more than 2,300 mg per day for most healthy adults.
For people with high blood pressure, the recommended limit is 1,500 mg a
day.
1 teaspoon of salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium. Keep this in mind as you
plan your daily meals, and make sure that you're not eating too much
sodium by unnecessarily adding salt to your foods.
2. Shop for low-sodium foods
Be smart when you are shopping. Sodium is
present in almost all the processed and prepared foods we buy. So, look
for low-sodium foods instead of items that are high in sodium.
The foods you should avoid on a low-sodium diet include:
* Sauces, dressings, and condiments.
* Instant foods such as flavored rice or noodles.
* Deli meat, fish, or poultry – like bacon, cold cuts, ham,
frankfurters, sausage, and sardines.
* Canned beans with added salt.
* Frozen meals with bread in them, like burritos and pizza.
Some great foods that are low in sodium include:
* Any fresh fruits or vegetables like apples, oranges, or bananas, and
spinach, carrots, or broccoli.
* Cereals, bread, and other grains like brown or wild rice, buckwheat,
or quinoa.
* Instead of processed foods, choose foods high in protein like fresh or
frozen fish or shellfish, chicken or turkey breast without skin or
marinade, dried beans and peas, or eggs.
* Select unsalted or low-sodium fat-free broths, bouillons, or soups.
An important thing to keep in mind while grocery shopping is to compare
nutrition labels on food packaging and checking the amount of sodium in
foods. Read labels carefully and opt for low-sodium products. Watch out
for the words “soda,” “sodium,” and the symbol “Na” on food labels.
These labels indicate that a product contains sodium compounds. Look for
foods labeled “low sodium,” “reduced sodium,” or “no salt added."