Shake the Salt Habit

With the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcing efforts to reduce salt in the foods we eat, salt has become a hot topic! Table salt, or sodium chloride, is actually made up of 40% sodium, and it’s the sodium that is the cause of the health concerns.*

Sodium is essential in the body to help regulate fluids and blood pressure. Too much sodium causes your body to retain water, which puts extra strain on your heart and blood vessels. By lowering the amount of sodium in your diet, high blood pressure can be lowered or even prevented!**

The current recommendations from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggests that general, healthy members of the population consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium.*** The American Heart Association recommends no more than 1,500 mg of sodium daily because of the benefits lower sodium diets have on reducing and preventing high blood pressure.**

To put things in perspective, most Americans consume an average of 3,500 mg of sodium each day, which means we have some work to do to lower sodium intake.* If you already have stopped salting your foods at the table and while cooking, great job! Unfortunately, most of the sodium in your diet comes from processed and prepared foods, so follow these tips to shake your salt habit:

• Choose fresh and unprocessed fruits, vegetables, and meats most often. These foods are naturally lower in sodium. 
• Read the Nutrition Facts label to become more aware of the sodium in your foods.
• Look for labels that say “low sodium.”  Low sodium means the food has 140 mg or less per serving.
• Use salt-free seasoning, herbs, and spices to flavor foods instead of salt.
• Watch out for condiments like ketchup, mustard, salad dressings, barbecue sauce, and soy sauce because they are high in sodium.

*http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/19/AR2010041905049.html

**http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2106

***http://www.health.gov/DietaryGuidelines/