SODIUM

cagirl

I am having a really tough time with the evil "sodium". I did very well all day today but then had 1/2 c of the mushroom soup over my dinner and (when I went to log) discovered the mushroom soup had 850 mg of sodium!!! This put me over my daily 1500 by a little more than 300.

What do some of you do to keep the sodium in check. I am really really frustrated with this. I know my body holds on to every bit of it and I want to get control. I do good with all the other nutrients other than this one.

Please help

CGerman

Since we cook most food at home, we look for low sodium on anything we can. We've gotten creative using other spices to ramp up the flavor without the salt kick. Anything processed is going to be a killer on sodium, the low sodium options help but you may have to use less per serving than what you're used to.

I would much rather have salty snacks than sweet ones, so sodium has really been my challenge. Just being aware of how much is in the food you're cooking has been a huge help. Odds are if you knew about the sodium before you ate you would have cut down on the portion and been okay.

carolechisholm

Anything in a can is usually loaded with sodium, you can purchase low sodium, check the labels, you'll discover which products are healthier choices. You can find nutritional info online as well eg Campbell's. Good Luck!

6Janelle13

My husband's family has heart issues so we've been trying to dodge sodium since we got married. if it's pre made i measure out what i need and i also plan the meal and enter it in the diary in advance so there are no surprises. I bet you could have gotten away with your soup if you had used only 1/4 cup. knowing before i cook really saves me most days.

As for other things: I make my own tomato sauce by blending no salt added canned tomatoes with oinions and garlic.
I make my own taco seasoning from just ground spices and herbs (cumin, corriander, chili powder etc- all just pure ground spices and herbs- no salt or sodium added.)
I also cook with sea salt because when i do need to use it i find this interacts differently with my body than table salt.

If you wanted you could even just saute fresh mushrooms and milk and a wedge of laughing cow cheese.

obifatkanobi

I understand very well. I have also been watching sodium and it's awful! Just about anything that is processed is loaded full of salts and msg's. We look for low or no sodium in everything, but often, you have to pay more, even though your getting less. Besides, until I got used to the taste of my food instead of tasting salt, everything seems so flat. Morton has some low sodium seasonings that are good, as well as a lite salt that cuts a lot out by adding in potassium. The bottom line is, if you make it from scratch, you can reduce sodium a lot, but if it's processed, it's going to be loaded either with salt, or other sodiums like msg's. Look for reduced sodium wherever possible, and if time allows, prepare as much as you can from scratch and freeze it. I have found low sodium, or modified the recipe to be low sodium recipes for taco seasoning, chili seasoning, gravies, soups, sauces, etc... It takes a while to adjust to tasting foods, not salts, but once you do, life is so much tastier. Add spices to give zest and flavor, too. Even so, it's still a daily battle to stay below...

funkyspunky871

First of all, the daily recommended sodium intake is 2500 mg, not 1500 mg. (Unless you've been advised by a doctor and whatnot) That helps. Second, you're gonna find it really, really hard to stay under your sodium goal unless you completely cut out processed foods. If you don't have a heart problems or history or anything, honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. Just cutting calories and choosing healthier food, processed or not, is going to dramatically decrease your sodium intake already. But, even having said that, start looking for lower sodium labels definitely. It's good for you whether you're really concerned about your sodium intake or not.

pxgabriel

I quit salting my food. I hardly eat any processed food. The only salting I do is some Lowrys seasoned salt on my chicken and fish. I quit salting potatoes and corn when I cook them. Now when I eat processed foods, it taste gross because it is so salty. I have been doing this for almost 90 days.

raymj61

Personally, I don't really make any decisions based on sodium. I have enough to juggle with the calories, fats and carbs. With that said, I rarely add extra salt to anything and don't really eat salty snacks but I do eat 1 frozen dinner on most workdays. Some days I go over on sodium but most days I'm under so I don't even concern myself with it. I'm not saying this is the right thing to do, I'm just saying, I have enough to consider when deciding on what to eat. My blood pressure is in the 108/68 range so, thus far, I can afford not to stress about sodium (in my mind anyway) . When I increase my cals (I'm doing 1260/day right now) then I may go over more often, and I'll worry about it then.

ccrashh

@funkyspunky - not sure where you are getting 2500Mg from as a daily recommended intake of sodium. US and Canada both suggest between 1500 and 1600, no where near 2500Mg. Not sure why MyFitnessPal defaults to 2500Mg.

Mindful_Trent

@funkyspunky - not sure where you are getting 2500Mg from as a daily recommended intake of sodium. US and Canada both suggest between 1500 and 1600, no where near 2500Mg. Not sure why MyFitnessPal defaults to 2500Mg.

The USDA currently recommends maximum sodium of 2400/day, which may be where MFP's 2500 comes from. The Amercian Heart Association (and apparently other organizations) recommend 1500/day max for the lowest risk.

Personally I try to stay in the middle with a max of 2000/day. Never had any problems with blood pressure or anything that would require a low-sodium diet.

Edited to add: Here's an interesting pamphlet on sodium - http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/publications/nutritioninsights/insight3.pdf

Mindful_Trent

To the Original poster - it's pretty simple: cut back on processed foods as much as possible, don't add extra salt while cooking/at the table, and pick the lowest sodium options when you do have to buy processed/prepared foods.

I went over ALL the time when I first started, but now it's not usually an issue. My problem foods were lunchmeat, bread and dairy. Now I cook my own meats to use for lunch, but I was able to do okay when I bought the lowest sodium lunchmeats and lower sodium breads. There are almost always lower sodium options available - you just have to be a smart shopper. I'd recommend you analyze your food diary to see what items are most problematic - either find lower sodium versions or substitute something else that is lower sodium.

The more fresh/ home-prepared foods you eat, the less likely it is that you will have a problem with sodium.