Secret sodium packed foods

AK121730

Hey everyone,
While I feel very fit and eat well, my doc just told me that my blood pressure is not good so I am taking it a 3x a day for the next 3 weeks to see if it is hypertension. I dont want to go on meds if it is and am taking a direct approach to lower my sodium intake and going to do daily calm meditation to try and lower some work stress.

I keep hearing that there are a lot of foods packed with sodium that people dont realize. So, anyone have any suggestions or salt alternatives for cooking? thanks!

rileysowner

If you are logging your food here, you can see yourself what the sodium content is. For some people sodium reduction makes a big difference. For other people it makes no difference at all. My experience is sodium consumption makes no difference for me. Weight loss, eating foods that will increase my magnesium intake, and exercise (interval training and long distance cycling), resulted in a big drop in my blood pressure. Sadly, I fell off the wagon after having an injury, and have been working to get back to where I was. I didn't get off the medications I was on, but I did reduce them a great deal doing that, and if I had continued, I likely would have gotten off of them completely.

kshama2001

AK121730 wrote: »

Hey everyone,
While I feel very fit and eat well, my doc just told me that my blood pressure is not good so I am taking it a 3x a day for the next 3 weeks to see if it is hypertension. I dont want to go on meds if it is and am taking a direct approach to lower my sodium intake and going to do daily calm meditation to try and lower some work stress.

I keep hearing that there are a lot of foods packed with sodium that people dont realize. So, anyone have any suggestions or salt alternatives for cooking? thanks!

If by "eat well" you mean "mostly cooking from scratch" you're probably not consuming a lot of sodium (unless you are using a lot of soy sauce, fish sauce, etc.) The "surprising" amounts of sodium are generally in ultra processed foods.

For example, when I make chicken noodle soup I use very little salt, but a half cup of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup contains 39% of the recommended amount of sodium. To reiterate - that is a half cup, and there are 2.5 servings per can.

Perhaps your doctor can give you a referral to a dietician?

AnnPT77

AK121730 wrote: »

I keep hearing that there are a lot of foods packed with sodium that people dont realize. So, anyone have any suggestions or salt alternatives for cooking? thanks!

People do say that, but I don't get it: It's right on the label. How hidden is that? About the only "hidden" sodium is in food from restaurants that don't put nutrition info on the web.

So, read labels, check nutrition info.

For cooking, there are salt substitutes, or you can add flavor with herbs, a squeeze of lemon or lime, a dash of various vinegars, red pepper flakes, or the like.

neanderthin

How did your Dr. determine your consuming too much salt? Did your doctor perform a serum sodium test? Potassium and magnesium levels are just as important so curious if your Dr. mentioned these and calcium to a lesser degree. Hypertension is multifaceted. Just curious.

paints5555

kshama2001 wrote: »

AK121730 wrote: »

Hey everyone,
While I feel very fit and eat well, my doc just told me that my blood pressure is not good so I am taking it a 3x a day for the next 3 weeks to see if it is hypertension. I dont want to go on meds if it is and am taking a direct approach to lower my sodium intake and going to do daily calm meditation to try and lower some work stress.

I keep hearing that there are a lot of foods packed with sodium that people dont realize. So, anyone have any suggestions or salt alternatives for cooking? thanks!

If by "eat well" you mean "mostly cooking from scratch" you're probably not consuming a lot of sodium (unless you are using a lot of soy sauce, fish sauce, etc.) The "surprising" amounts of sodium are generally in ultra processed foods.

For example, when I make chicken noodle soup I use very little salt, but a half cup of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup contains 39% of the recommended amount of sodium. To reiterate - that is a half cup, and there are 2.5 servings per can.

Perhaps your doctor can give you a referral to a dietician?

It's still a lot of sodium but that 1/2 cup is before you add the water. So prepared, the amount listed would be for 1 cup.

HoneyBadger302

I had a blood pressure scare about 18 months ago - here's a thread sharing my story. Increasing my workouts while in a recomp with very slow weight loss has continued to slowly drop it even more...

Sodium is actually a very small part of the equation....not that it doesn't have an effect, but unless you also had bloodwork that came back a bit alarming or eat a ton of processed foods, I would imagine there are much more valuable ways you could address the issues you are facing.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10883427/blood-pressure-a-story#latest

kajaet

I ate like 12 Jumbo shrimp the other day and honestly It felt like a cheat code because the calories are very low but I noticed my sodium was high that day and It was the shrimp. Looks like it might be processed in a brine to preserve them. who knew? not me

joans1976

I don’t know if this helps or not but I had high blood pressure for a couple of years and was about 110 pounds overweight. I also have a severe anxiety disorder and a high stress job. I lost 50 pounds and started tracking my 3 major macros, my sodium (I put it down to 1,800 mg per day instead of 2,500-with my doctor’s okay) and fiber. I was eating like absolute garbage. I had high cholesterol too. I lost the 50 pounds and started eating better and worked extra hard at making boundaries with work (honestly the hardest part.) I was taken off my BP meds and have significantly lowered my cholesterol but it still remains a tad high. I was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer last October and my BP always read normal/low normal at appointments. I continued to clean up my diet even while going through treatment. My anxiety was pretty high during treatment. So, take that for what it is. Was it eating better or less stress? I’m not sure, probably both.
Just to add, I was surprised how much sodium is in cottage cheese.
I wish you the best.

PAPYRUS3

Sodium really isn't 'hidden' - it's right on the label.

Stick to whole spices (make sure it's not a 'spice blend with sodium'. Those can be quite high).

Once you purchase some quality spices (lemons are great too) you won't know how you lived without them! However, good ol' Mrs. Dash is pretty good too though. lol! If you really desire that 'salt', a few grains of a coarse or flaked sea salt on top of dishes can really finish any dish!

Just don't eat in restaurants lol! (but seriously, the sodium levels of most of these things are crazy...)