Hidden Sodium

MissJenn33
MissJenn33 Posts: 131
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
I've been doing really well with my food choices for a while now. I've been loading in the veggies and have been really proud of that. Last week I asked folks to look at my diary and tell me where I could improve. One genius lady said I should add sodium to my tracking. I did and was shocked at the sodium levels in the veggies I was choosing. I tended to LOVE the birdseye steam fresh steamer bags that had seasonings and flavorings. Stupid me did not equate that to massive sodium additions to my veg! I felt so silly! So I stopped buying those and stick to the straight veggies with no added flavors.

How do you folks add some flavor to your veggies without adding tons of sodium/fat/fake crap? I miss the flavor on my veggies!

Replies

  • MissJenn33
    MissJenn33 Posts: 131
    bump
  • Cmh1211
    Cmh1211 Posts: 104
    this same exact thing happened to me... if u go less calories theres too much sodium... if u watch ur sodium there is to much calories... what the heck.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    There are plenty of sodium-free seasonings. You could also try the so-called "lite" salt, which is half potassium chloride.

    IMO, sodium is nothing to worry about for most people.
  • MissJenn33
    MissJenn33 Posts: 131
    there's got to be SOMETHING out there, right? I don't want fake crap. I LOVE butter but that's just not ok. I like my veggies but I want a little kick. Sigh.
  • MissJenn33
    MissJenn33 Posts: 131
    There are plenty of sodium-free seasonings. You could also try the so-called "lite" salt, which is half potassium chloride.

    IMO, sodium is nothing to worry about for most people.

    Maybe for most people but my BP is high. I do my very best to do all I can to keep it down. Sodium additions are a big no-no. It's hard enough staying below the target. I don't want to add any if I don't need to.
  • Cmh1211
    Cmh1211 Posts: 104
    i use mrs dash seasonings... they are salt free but although everyone swears by them i think the main ingredient in mrs dash is SUCK! i might be doing something wrong but i have tried every single one and i have to add cheese to my chicken just to make it edible.
  • JayBeeGo
    JayBeeGo Posts: 33 Member
    What annoys me is that some food simply refers to sodium content with no reference to salt.

    The numbers can look modest until you multiply the sodium content by 2.5 to get the salt equivalent - sneaky.

    Most people eat far too much salt than is good for them or they need - whether they realise it or not.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    What annoys me is that some food simply refers to sodium content with no reference to salt.

    The numbers can look modest until you multiply the sodium content by 2.5 to get the salt equivalent - sneaky.

    Most people eat far too much salt than is good for them or they need - whether they realise it or not.
    What?

    Sodium is 40% of salt. The sodium content is the amount of total sodium in a product, what is this multiply by 2.5 salt equivalent stuff? Care to actually explain how that works, because it doesn't.
  • JayBeeGo
    JayBeeGo Posts: 33 Member
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_equivalent

    http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Womens_Health_Watch/2009/November/sodium-salt-and-you

    Unless I've misunderstood the many references I've seen, when a food label refers to mg of sodium this needs to be multiplied by 2.5 to get the equivalent salt content.

    If you use salt content as a reference then the multiplication comes in.
    If you use the sodium content and possibly refer that to recommended maximum intake of sodium then so be it.

    I think I'll be happy if I've got this wrong and apologies for unintentionally misleading anyone but I, and I believe others at least over here in the UK, tend to track salt content and that is what is almost invariably noted on food labels with occasional reference to sodium.

    I suspect, not least from a closer reading of this thread, that in the US sodium is normally referred to and not the salt content or equivalent.
  • ltlemermaid
    ltlemermaid Posts: 637 Member
    If you have a trader joe's nearby, get the 21 seasoning salute its awesome! I season a lot of foods-veggies meats, fish with it. it gives the food flavor without the salt.
  • jamesfit99
    jamesfit99 Posts: 61
    Unless you're doing your own cooking, don't worry about converting sodium to salt or vice versa. Food packaging labels refer to "sodium" in milligrams (mg), as do most reports or diets suggesting the amount of sodium.

    If you're doing your own cooking, one teaspoon of salt has 2325 milligrams (mg) of sodium. That's your entire daily allowance according to MFP, and way over your daily allowance if you're following any salt restricted guidelines.

    -- James
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