the dreaded "hidden" sodium

kittyloo123

It just bums me sometimes, the places that you find the dreaded sodium.. Yesterday, i had a pretty good day, and at the end of it all, i looked, and for the first time in awhile, i went over on my sodium WTH.... Between the meatless "beef strips" (glad to say good bye to those) the cottage cheese was high. I thought that cottage cheese was supposed to be good for you. I think the ff that i get is 400 per serving. That's just wrong. Its in lettece, and fresh peaches. Oops! not in the peaches, it was the ww flatbread. anyway, it's in everything.

bookyeti

Sodium isn't bad for us...our bodies do need it. It's the *overload* of it in mostly processed foods that's absolutely horrifying. And unfortunately a lot of low-fat/low-cal/low-sugar foods that we who are trying to watch our weight tend to be drawn to are chalk full of sodium too! It's maddening.

That's another reason why it's best to eat as much whole foods as possible, and reduce as much processed stuff as possible.

I agree - very frustrating indeed! MFP has really been an eye opener when it comes to seeing how much sodium is in what we eat!

ShunkyDave

I was shocked at the sodium I was consuming with cottage cheese! I know, right?! It's supposed to be good for you!

I guess it is, if you're trying to retain water like a camel.

ajbeans

Sodium isn't bad for you. It's when you are way over on sodium that it's bad for you. But you do need it to some extent, so don't worry about what you're finding in natural foods. Foods that are processed, frozen, canned, or prepackaged do typically contain a lot of sodium -- it's used to preserve the food, as well as to make it so tasty that you'll buy more of their food. But don't stress about the sodium you find in lettuce or eggs or whatever. Keeping it in a range of 1500-2500 is good for most people, unless your doctor has advised you otherwise.

byHISstrength

That's why I stopped eating cottage cheese. It doesn't even taste that good to me. Chobani non fat plain Greek yogurt is an awesome alternative.

melsinct

You would literally die without sodium, so it is pretty necessary! If you eat mainly home cooked foods and stay away from processed foods it is almost hard to go over your sodium limit. Also, if you are into fat free or "light" foods, many are chock full of sugar and sodium to make them taste better to make up for the lack of fat (especially salad dressings).

kittyloo123

i personally think that i am done with cottage cheese for awhile.