Sodium Intake

angelinerstetzko

It is seriously insane how much sodium goes into so many products on the market. Sodium makes your body retain water, causing you to feel bloated and uncomfortable. It also is a factor is causing high blood pressure - or hypertension.

The ideal intake of sodium is 1,300mg per day - which is less than 1 teaspoon of table salt - while the maximum should be 2,300mg. According to Colorado State University, the average woman takes in 2,300mg to 3,100mg of sodium and the average male takes in 3,100mg to 4,700mg of sodium per day. That is 1,000mg to 3,400mg more sodium than we should be consuming.

Here’s an example of the differences between homemade and manufactured items and their sodium/calorie levels.

I’ve been eating homemade spaghetti sauce, with no salt added. The only ingredients are roasted red peppers, tomatoes, roasted eggplant and roasted garlic. That’s it. 1 serving contains 2mg of sodium and 27 calories (it makes a heck of a lot of sauce!). And if I add 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast to make it a little cheesier, it adds 3mg of sodium and 30 calories - totaling 5mg of sodium and 57 calories.

I used to buy Hunt’s Four Cheese Spaghetti Sauce. 1 serving of that contains 580mg of sodium and 60 calories.

That’s a difference of 575mg of sodium and 3 calories for 1 serving people.

#never buying pasta sauce ever again.

Also, I’d like to add that most “low-fat” or “low-calorie” foods are in fact lower in both, but they jack up the sodium content to make the taste more favorable.

I don’t know about you guys - but when I eat food containing too much sodium - I feel bloated and uncomfortable. And it seems to take forever for this feeling to go away. I’m becoming far more aware of what sodium does to your body - and in this, I’m trying to find ways to reduce my sodium intake. I’m honestly finding that basically the only way to eat lower sodium foods, is to create your own and/or buy organic, no salt-added, raw foods.

Any thoughts or comments to add?

DAVEGETSLEAN

My wife and I eat sooo many tomato based meals ( spaghetti, chili, etc.). I really have to consider taking the time to create my own sauce. Your right the sodium levels in our products are ridiculously high.

brandihutchinson

This is great because I'm having a huge problem with sodium. My face blows up when I take in too much sodium, but like you said, there is so much in just about everything! I don't know how much I should take in for my face to go down, but it'd be nice to know!
What is your recipe for the paste sauce?? That sounds awesome! I currently use the same four cheese sauce and would love to learn a healthier version!!

luvlite2

Sounds good...and I agree with you. Just can't afford it. It's easier and quicker sometimes to buy that pasta sauce in the jar. I just adjust my water intake for the days I eat more salt than I would like. I don't go over 2,500 in a day but it is a task. Good luck with that.

Espressocycle

I think the sodium thing is overblown. I also question the 2400 max for all people, since I eat 2400 calories a day, while a smaller person would eat 1,200. For people without health problems, the body can get rid of salt just fine, and there is also speculation that it's not so much the sodium, but the lousy diet that happens to be high in sodium, that is responsible for some negative correlations with sodium. In other words, lots of unhealthful foods are also high in sodium, so when people cut sodium, they are also eating leass fried chicken.

However, I agree there is too much salt in stuff. I ate at a Sichuan Chinese place last night and consumed so much salt I gained 2 lbs overnight and feel dehydrated.

deseablev

I loved this article because i just ate Prego's three cheese sauce last night because it was quick, even though I know I need to just make more time to cook things from scratch. (Sidenote: I don't know how to make pasta sauce and don't like eggplant so if you have any other recipes for it please send it my way!)

But I am concerned about sodium intake because of the prevalent heart issues in my family. If you have any other great tips, please post them!!

:-)

brit49

That's why I'm trying to eat more homemade, It's hard sometimes and time consuming, and then there is the taste, not the best of cook

deseablev

I think the sodium thing is overblown. I also question the 2400 max for all people, since I eat 2400 calories a day, while a smaller person would eat 1,200. For people without health problems, the body can get rid of salt just fine, and there is also speculation that it's not so much the sodium, but the lousy diet that happens to be high in sodium, that is responsible for some negative correlations with sodium. In other words, lots of unhealthful foods are also high in sodium, so when people cut sodium, they are also eating leass fried chicken.

However, I agree there is too much salt in stuff. I ate at a Sichuan Chinese place last night and consumed so much salt I gained 2 lbs overnight and feel dehydrated.

I do agree that obviously foods that are unhealthy will have higher sodium. However, there are a lot of things that most people wouldn't think to consider as "unhealthy" but will still have a lot of sodium, like hot sauce, ham, etc. Although since we all are on diets and probably research a lot of this information, the average person may not. They may be told to just cut out carbs, white bread, and limit red meat and replace beef with turkey, and add more veggies and fruit.
So for instance, a person might think to make their own breakfast sandwhich instead of going to DD. So like light wheat english muffin (or fiber one whole grain), two egg whites, fat free slice of cheese, a small turkey sausage breakfast patty (what I used to love to eat, minus my hot sauce, that's why this is my example lol) can come out to about 860mg sodium. If someone only knows about what to replace...like wheat for white, fat free cheese for regular, egg whites for whole eggs, etc... then they may not be realizing how much sodium they are eating, especially since thinks like condiments are overlooked when calculating inputting food into a diary to calculate calories.
I also believe people don't realize how much salt are in certain spices.

And I also know from my family that while going over sodium intake about 500-1000mg a day doesn't seem like a lot, it can have a poor impact on the heart in the long run... just has many other things can do like cholesterol , etc. Every once in awhile is okay but not everyday.

OKmac3

I have always created my own sauces even when I started cooking at the age of 9. It is how I was raised and what I was taught. I am so glad to know that my sauce is healthier than the alternative.

Thanks for the topic

angelinerstetzko

This is great because I'm having a huge problem with sodium. My face blows up when I take in too much sodium, but like you said, there is so much in just about everything! I don't know how much I should take in for my face to go down, but it'd be nice to know!
What is your recipe for the paste sauce?? That sounds awesome! I currently use the same four cheese sauce and would love to learn a healthier version!!

Oh the pasta sauce is SO EASY! You just roast garlic, red peppers and eggplant first. Then you combine all 3 of those with tomatoes (and fresh herbs like cilantro, basil, and oregano - these are my go to herbs!) into a food processor. Process until smooth (puree) and voila! Yummy, healthy sauce! And it makes A TON!! I also like to add pepper in there too! Experiment - that's the way you'll get great tasting food suited just to your tastes

angelinerstetzko

I loved this article because i just ate Prego's three cheese sauce last night because it was quick, even though I know I need to just make more time to cook things from scratch. (Sidenote: I don't know how to make pasta sauce and don't like eggplant so if you have any other recipes for it please send it my way!)

But I am concerned about sodium intake because of the prevalent heart issues in my family. If you have any other great tips, please post them!!

:-)

If your family has a history of heart issues, you should DEFINITELY be aware of your sodium intake!! Reducing your sodium can reduce your chances of having problems of your own down the road!

angelinerstetzko

I think the sodium thing is overblown. I also question the 2400 max for all people, since I eat 2400 calories a day, while a smaller person would eat 1,200. For people without health problems, the body can get rid of salt just fine, and there is also speculation that it's not so much the sodium, but the lousy diet that happens to be high in sodium, that is responsible for some negative correlations with sodium. In other words, lots of unhealthful foods are also high in sodium, so when people cut sodium, they are also eating leass fried chicken.

However, I agree there is too much salt in stuff. I ate at a Sichuan Chinese place last night and consumed so much salt I gained 2 lbs overnight and feel dehydrated.

I understand your view that sodium levels should differ between people. I completely agree. Everyone is different - therefore food intake levels will differ between people. However, too much sodium in not healthy for you.

Personally, if I intake too much sodium, I become extremely dehydrated and my scale sky rockets - I'm not talking 1-2 pounds, I'm talking 3-5 in ONE DAY. Yes, it does go back down, but sometimes it takes days - even up to a week AND I have to work harder than normal.

Why should I punish my body when I could just treat it better in the first place, you know?

angelinerstetzko

This is great because I'm having a huge problem with sodium. My face blows up when I take in too much sodium, but like you said, there is so much in just about everything! I don't know how much I should take in for my face to go down, but it'd be nice to know!
What is your recipe for the paste sauce?? That sounds awesome! I currently use the same four cheese sauce and would love to learn a healthier version!!

Oh the pasta sauce is SO EASY! You just roast garlic, red peppers and eggplant first. Then you combine all 3 of those with tomatoes (and fresh herbs like cilantro, basil, and oregano - these are my go to herbs!) into a food processor. Process until smooth (puree) and voila! Yummy, healthy sauce! And it makes A TON!! I also like to add pepper in there too! Experiment - that's the way you'll get great tasting food suited just to your tastes

Oh! I forgot to mention - the tomatoes should be crushed. You can see how to do this yourself (instead of buying canned) right here:
http://www.pasta-recipes-by-italians.com/crushed-tomatoes.html

Lindz2323

Thanks chica!!