Sodium question

crazydv

MFP has been a real eye opener for me. I never realized how much sodium was in my diet.

I'm almost always over on my sodium and I'm trying to make a change.

I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on some low sodium meals (I don't eat red meat)

Going to try and figure out how to open my diary so you can see what I'm eating.

Thanks in advance for your help

Cris

s0ready

i realized that myself and mine came from canned and boxed goods! i guess just try to keep your foods fresh and homemade as much as possible i'm still trying to learn that myself!

crazydv

Thanks...I'm trying but still can't seem to get it....I'm sure it will just take time...

86_Ohms

Natural foods contain the least since salt == preservative. Meats and everything that usually goes with cooking meat will usually have a lot as well.

Potassium and sodium are electrolytes so don't cut them down too low... just try to keep under 3000mg/day.

crazydv

Thank you for helping...I guess it will take time to figure this out!

amuhlou

Like others have said, boxed goods are the biggest culprits. If anything seems to have a suspiciously long shelf life, you can bet on it having a decent amount of sodium as a preservative. Cured meats and sausages will also be very high.

Always opt for a low sodium variety when it's available - you can always add more to taste, but you can't ever take it away.

The more you cook your own food, the easier it will be to control the sodium.

Cindym82

Anything premade and in a box or frozen usually has a huge amount of sodium....just try to read the labels.....like the "healthy" frozen lunches.....yea 700g of sodium per serving

swthrtsmrf

I found the same problem. It really does open your eyes. I also have found that since I cut the sodium back that a lot of food tastes really salty to me. When I cook, I try not to use seasonings that are contain a lot of salt in them.

rudegyal_b

cook from scratch, its pretty much the only sure way of cutting sodium

maleva720

Shredded cheeses and salad dressings are what gets me. I never add salt to anything and I buy all my veggies fresh or frozen. MFP was an eye opener for me as well...

WhatDoesLisa

I have high blood pressure so I am always trying to be aware of salt too. I don't salt anything when I cook even if the directions call for it. I think that cuts out a lot of salt. I look at all my canned goods too. I buy very low sodium tuna fish, no salt added beans, no salt added diced tomatoes, low sodium chicken broth. It took awhile to get used to because I LOVE salt.

If you order Chinese food, you can order steamed Chicken & Broccoli and don't use the sauce that they give you or use low sodium soy sauce.

ElPumaMex

Foods that have huge amounts of salt:
Salads (with dresssing), cheese, ham, canned soups and food, etc.

It is not easy to be below 2300mg of sodium per day, but if you watch for those and other foods high in sodium, you should be fine.
No need to buy special food low in sodium, or sodium substitutes, to be below 2300mg.

Good luck !

Diandra81

Check out the DASH diet. Also, like someone mentioned cook your own meals....and use natural herbs and spices. If you need to use premade seasoning Mrs. Dash is great!

Katie1951

It is sad, but true, that about the only way to reduce your sodium intake is to cut out all processed foods. You really have to look at labels. Fresh is always better, but not always doable.

I find canned soups the worst, even the low sodium is to high.

shaelataylor

many soups and such are sold with "low sodium" as an option so i would switch to those for days when you dont have time to cook your own meals. its what another friend suggested to me for my sodium so hopefully it works out for you. its all a giant puzzle so itll take time to fit the pieces together, just dont give up

rprussell2004

I was flabbergasted by how much sodium there was in a subway sammich with flatbread - almost 4 GRAMS. Yeesh.

I also noticed that immediately after eating said sandwich, my weight shot up and stayed there, and about 3 days later fell back down.

Hooray for water weight!

LAURAC1959

I've been cooking very low sodium for several years now. I try to stay around 1,500 mg/day which is really low.

Your taste buds will adapt! As you eat less processed foods and stop adding salt, things will taste better and better. Restaurant food often tastes much too salty for me now.

Most canned soups are killer even if they are labeled "lower sodium"--it's still too high. Also a lot of frozen meals.

There are many no-salt herb blends (Mrs Dash), and fresh herbs and lemon juice and pepper can perk up your cooking too.

Salt is sneaky and hides in stuff that doesn't even taste salty, like bread and some cereals.

jessicafk11

One major source of sodium that a lot of people do not think about is bread. Even if you are cutting back, it is AMAZING how much sodium some bread and bread products have. Thomas' bagels have 500 mg of sodium as I recently found out when I read the package. Cutting back on processed/packaged foods will certainly help but you really need to look at the nutrition labels of everything you eat as there are some sources of sodium that might surprise you.