The New Sodium Guideline 1500 mg Anyone Meeting It?

WomanofWorth

I have been trying; I don't add salt to anything, eat mostly fresh fruit and veggies, a little meat, rinsed any beans that are canned, etc and I'm struggling with the new guidelines. My sodium counts are usually 1600-1900 mg. Anyone else struggling? Any tips or suggestions? Also, I'm wondering if and when MFP will catch up with the new guidelines.

Hummmingbird

where are these guidelines coming from?

dspearsb

I've been trying for the last two weeks. Most days I go over by like 200. I have gone a few days where I stayed under. But only on the days that I had the opportunity to make everything from scratch! My down fall is how I season my food. salt is so yummy! LOL. I have been avoiding processed and prepackaged foods as much as possible. Or buy things that say no salt or low salt. And if I go over I try to have a high potassium food, so I don't retain water.

Good Luck!

dspearsb

where are these guidelines coming from?

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/PolicyDoc.pdf

Corinne_Bruce

It's difficult for me and I read that article about the increase in strokes among young adults. One of the causes is our sodium intake, I believe this is from the American Heart Association but I'm not sure. You can do a search in the forum because I posted the article a couple of weeks ago. Search for "strokes" and the title was "I thought I would share".

Here's the article: http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/ap/us_med_stroke_younger_victims

WomanofWorth

http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2010/DietaryGuidelines2010.pdf search sodium. The recommendation is on page 21.

claire_b79

I'm having a hard time coming close to the sodium goal. I'm always about 1000-1700 under!

WomanofWorth

Corrine, you're right: The heart assn pushed the USDA to adopt the lower guidelines. Here is what the Heart Assn says about it:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4708

WomanofWorth

Claire, under is good! Most of us run over.

genst

I am on the other end too, I dont eat enough sodium so I have to try to add more in. I normally cook all my meals from scratch and I dont really add salt only a mixed seasoning if it needs it.
From what ive seen its the packaged foods that have a large amount of sodium in them so maybe you could try making your own version?

claire_b79

Claire, under is good! Most of us run over.

Yes but I have low blood pressure so my doctor is always telling me to eat more salt and drink more water! I thought I was eating a lot of salt. Guess not!

Dobsaya

I thought the 1500 was for African Americans or other races with high blood pressure. Anyway, I am trying to move slowly. Trying to hit the 2000 level. I have cut out canned vegetables so now I guess I have to cut out some processed foods. Darn. My mom is genetic low and my dad genetic high. Can I possibly get a mix and just have perfect blood pressure? I wish. It's great right now at age 35 120/60 so maybe I shouldn't stress about the 1500 and just try and keep it under the old 2500.

frostiegurl

I manage to get anywhere from 800-1400 mg a day. I rarely go over since I've started using dry beans instead of canned, fresh and frozen vegetables instead of canned, and I rarely touch boxed or pre-packaged foods. If I do by chance have something like a veggie burger or tuna burger, I make darned sure that the sodium is less than 250mg a serving.

margarita953

I don't know what my sodium intake is but I have a feeling it's well above 1500 mg. I've always had a hard time eating a low-sodium diet and I don't eat a ton of processed foods. I figure that if I can make healthy food choices for now, once I have that down I can focus on lowering my sodium intake.

hotmooglelove

I wouldn't be too worried by those numbers justsayit, as long as you drink 8 cups of water a day that amount of excess sodium is very easy for the body to flush.

kelika71

My diary is open and I set the limit to 1800 for myself but usually I'm at or under 1500.
I do a lot of veggies, fruits, etc. I start with fresh, then frozen and if needed, then canned. If I have to do canned, I check the serving size and if the sodium is over 200, forget it. I'll just do without. Some canned foods are now coming out with no sodium added and I look for those, too.
I also found staying away from canned soups and making my own works better. Same with salsa...I make my own in summer. Not only that, I get more per serving by making my own than the jarred stuff.

dawnemjh

USDA sodium guideline: For about half of the US population, the recommendation now is that the dietary sodium intake be restricted to 1500 mg/day or less. This applies to all adults aged 51 years and older, all blacks, and all patients who have hypertension, chronic kidney disease, or diabetes. Half of the United States has a recommendation now for dietary sodium intake of 1500 mg/day or less. For the rest of the population, the remaining half, the recommendation is that dietary sodium intake be reduced by approximately one third from average current levels to 2300 mg/day

Its really important to limit sodium for overall health. High sodium intake elevates blood pressure, stresses kidneys, decreases capacity of heart to pump efficiently to name a few. I work in the health care business and see patients all the time coming in with heart failure due to sodium binges.

Dobsaya

Thanks for the more detail. I knew the 1500 included African Americans and those with hypertension but wasn't aware of the other qualifications.

rileysowner

I am on the other end too, I dont eat enough sodium so I have to try to add more in. I normally cook all my meals from scratch and I dont really add salt only a mixed seasoning if it needs it.
From what ive seen its the packaged foods that have a large amount of sodium in them so maybe you could try making your own version?

You may not have to add sodium. I don't know exactly how much we need for our bodies to function well, but I am guessing it is less that 1500mg a day. Those numbers are meant to stem the tide of extreme overeating of sodium that marks our culture.

gebnpb

Wow 1500... I'll have to reset my soduim on here. Usually i do pretty good at stay under 2000 but I just started rinsing food off to get rid of the sodium but I don't know how to track it that way... But I gues now I'll keep a better watch on it!!

sassyg

The Heart foundation here (NZ) recommends 920-2300mg sodium a day, so I would say somewhere around 900mg is a good minimum for health.

anubis609

Culturally, the 4 main ethnic groups that are prone to having hypertension, diabetes, and heart-related diseases are African-Americans, Latinos, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and Native-Americans. It's typically from the diet where many of the staple foods are extremely high in sodium content. Obviously, it's not limited to those specific groups, but those are the prevalent ones that stand out.

steveohypertension

I've hit it or near it last three weeks in a row, my nutritionist gave me this goal back in January ... personally, if a majority of people followed the 1500 mg of sodium guuidelines it would bankrupt all fast food establishments ... or any other place considered "eating out' ... just check out the nutritional guidelines ... the average person has no idea that high blood pressure "can be" a contributing factor to kidney failure

rileysowner

I have done pretty good as well for the last week or so, probably longer since the week is pretty similar to most other weeks. I should take the time and average it out to see how things are going as a daily average.