Sodium....

MrsCurtisinTX
MrsCurtisinTX Posts: 88 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Typically, do you know what foods are lower in sodium?

Replies

  • mamarundrc
    mamarundrc Posts: 1,577 Member
    Typicially the less processed the less sodium. Fresh fruits and veggies are obviously a start. If you are going to do canned you can find low sodium versions as well as low sodium/ no sodium versions of broths to use for cooking. Typically cheese tends to be higher in sodium. Frozen meals will tend to have a lot of sodium as well as any soy sauce based marinades. Processed meats are way higher than fresh meats (lunchmeats, kielbasa, sausages, bacon, ham). Also some seafood can have quite a bit of sodium naturally.

    I spend a lot of time reading labels and trying to find low sodium substitutes for recipes. Watching sodium has been a tough battle for me. I have managed to get it in control most days but still struggle to find replacements for certain of my favorites.
  • MrsCurtisinTX
    MrsCurtisinTX Posts: 88 Member
    Yes, I changed my diary so that I could start tracking it. I notice that I tend to retain water. Of course it is much better now that I drink tons of water and exercise, but some days can be bad. I didn't realize how much sodium I was consuming.
  • paigele
    paigele Posts: 123 Member
    Here are some good resources for you:

    http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/guidelines_for_a_low_sodium_diet/
    http://my.clevelandclinic.org/healthy_living/nutrition/hic_low-sodium_diet_guidelines.aspx
    http://www.lowsaltfoods.com/

    For me, I cook almost everything I eat from scratch ( i.e. hummus-YUM!), and eat few processed foods for the same reason you are tracking it.

    As a matter of simplicity, sometimes I log a manufactured "equivalent" of a food I make at home to keep from having to add it to the data base, but my total is almost always low for what is recommended simply from omiting the added salt.

    I read on a nutrition web site ( sorry I can't remember which one) that sea salt is easier on the body than the processed iodized version.
    -Hope that helps.
  • Zeromilediet
    Zeromilediet Posts: 787 Member
    It's important to track sodium in your diet--there's *way* too much in processed and restaurant foods. Sodium is an unavoidable part of everyone's diet, The minimum sodium requirement is about 1,500 milligrams (mg) of sodium each day. This is *less* than 1 teaspoon of table salt. The maximum recommended level of sodium intake is 2,300 mg per day. Personally I don't add salt to anything even if a recipe calls for it; there's plenty of sodium naturally occuring in foods we eat, such as vegetables, fruit, etc. Aside from the danger of hypertension, having too much sodium increases urinary calcium loss which leads to thinner bones at a faster rate.

    Eating foods high in potassium is a good way of balancing out the sodium in your diet (they work hand in hand--among other things it decreases calcium loss), but be aware you may need more or less potassium than you think if you're taking certain medications (check with your pharmacist). I don't take supplements but try to get potassium naturally in foods. From the whfoods website:

    "Potassium is found in abundance in many foods, and is especially easy to obtain in fruits and vegetables. Excellent sources of potassium include chard, crimini mushrooms, and spinach.

    Very good sources of potassium include fennel, kale, mustard greens, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, winter squash, blackstrap molasses, eggplant, cantaloupe, and tomatoes.

    Good sources of potassium include parsley, cucumber, bell pepper, turmeric, apricots, ginger root, strawberries, avocado, banana, tuna, halibut, cauliflower and cabbage. "

    The bottom line: make it yourself at home and like your mama said, "eat your veggies!"
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