Greens and Sodium

marsellient

So here's a shocker. I thought I had a pretty good handle on how to eat, but until yesterday's food logging I had no idea how much sodium there is in greens like Swiss chard and kale. I thought these were some of the healthiest foods to eat, but I limit my sodium because I want to stay off of meds for hypertension. Does anyone know if there's a way to prepare these greens to limit the sodium, or is it just best to eat them and watch other sodium intake for the day?

marsellient

Anyone? I'd really like some info!!

LolaVersion2

I'm happy to hear that you're trying to improve your health by incorporating more nutrient dense foods into your diet!!

The nutrients found in green leafy vegetables can help in the fight against high blood pressure, so yes, definitely continue eating them, but be mindful of how you cook them. If you saute/boil, do not add salt to the cooking water. Spinach, Kale and Broccoli are some of the BEST veggies for high blood pressure. A cup of raw spinach is a good source of vitamins A, C, K, folate, calcium, potassium, magnesium, fiber and is low in sodium at only 35 mg per serving. However, be wary of canned spinach because it can have 10 to 20 times the amount of sodium as the fresh spinach.

melsinct

How severely are you restricting sodium? I just looked up raw kale and it has 29 mg of sodium per serving. That isn't much at all. You can't go completely sodium free, as your body actually needs some to function.

marsellient

Yes, you're right. Kale isn't high. I made a favorite recipe with chard and did the recipe on here and the 500 g of raw chard in the recipe (which as you know cooks down to not much) came in at more than 1000mg of sodium. I had no idea. I am trying to keep sodium under 1500-1600 mg which is the standard for those trying to stay off meds. I will still eat greens...love them... But I'll just have to keep an eye on the sodium. Thanks for responding.

fitacct

I never add salt when cooking greens because of their sodium content. Instead, I add different flavors of Mrs. Dash or any other salt-free seasoning I have on hand.

marsellient

I like to finish greens with lemon juice or vinegar. When I was younger I didn't like any cooked greens, and adding the acid takes away the smell/flavour that made me shy away from them. I'll have to try some other flavourings. Thanks

fitacct

I do the lemon juice or vinegar, too, and a tiny dash of sugar to take the edge off the bitterness. : )