Holy Sodium!

kenna44cat

I was really surprised at all the sodium in prepared pasta sauce and salsa. It went right off the chart.

I usually use canned crushed tomatoes, salt free if I can find them, and then add my own spices, onions, mushrooms, etc. to them or eat it on pasta just the way it is heated up with some basil and oregano. An Italian co-worker once told me that's what she and her friends did.

If you make your own salsa, too, that would cut out all the sodium. I didn't think that a person needs 2000 mg of sodium a day, though. That's something to think about.

Thanks for all the comments. I don't know how to track potassium. It's a trace mineral, I think, maybe present in oranges and bananas if a person gets some of those every day.

ChasingSweatandTears

I was really surprised at all the sodium in prepared pasta sauce and salsa. It went right off the chart.

I usually use canned crushed tomatoes, salt free if I can find them, and then add my own spices, onions, mushrooms, etc. to them or eat it on pasta just the way it is heated up with some basil and oregano. An Italian co-worker once told me that's what she and her friends did.

If you make your own salsa, too, that would cut out all the sodium. I didn't think that a person needs 2000 mg of sodium a day, though. That's something to think about.

Thanks for all the comments. I don't know how to track potassium. It's a trace mineral, I think, maybe present in oranges and bananas if a person gets some of those every day.

Avocados, dried apricots, bananas, prunes, almonds are a few good sources

sheschemes

Yeah... It is really mind blowing how much sodium people consume without even realizing it. I have made a pretty big effort to cut down on my sodium these past four months that I have been logging... And I'm still over every single day. Still, I am ashamed to say that my sodium intake now is WAY better than it ever has been before. I've been addicted to salt since I was a kid. I would dip my meat in piles of salt. I would (heavily) salt anything that wasn't sweet. Scrambled eggs, spaghetti, macaroni & cheese, vegetables, mashed potatoes, etc. It was really bad. So while I was surprised to be diagnosed with hypertension at the age of 26, I really shouldn't have been.

If you can, track potassium as well. It's not on all labels so you won't get a completely accurate look, but it's important. Sodium and potassium work together in the body and need to be balanced. Having low potassium can increase the effects of too much sodium!

Also be sure not to eat too little sodium, it is necessary, especially if you work out a lot! I actually stopped tracking sodium because I have naturally low blood pressure and when I don't get enough, I get light-headed.

This is something I've *just* started doing. I vaguely was aware that potassium and sodium had some connections... But I saw someone mentioned how closely they worked together, and since I'm struggling desperately to get my sodium levels under control, I figured that I would see how I normally do with potassium. I was shocked! I usually go obscenely over on my sodium each day (As in a minimum of 500mgs over, and a maximum of a few THOUSAND mgs over...), but I had no idea just how little potassium I was getting on the flip side of that. My average is a mere 800mgs of potassium per day. And I have no idea how to fix that. I can see from logging that I get some potassium from veggies and fruits... But even if I seriously upped my intake of produce, I would still get way too little potassium-- especially when compared to my sodium intake.

I do have some health problems. I have high blood pressure, and one of my main goals is to be able to stop taking the beta blockers I was prescribed to treat that. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information about potassium supplements, but I'm considering a visit to my doctor to discuss it. I've been having strange issues with muscle pain, and I'm reading that this can be a sign of a potassium deficiency. Of course, seeing how pitiful my potassium intake is even AFTER I've started eating way more fruits and vegetables than ever before... I wouldn't be surprised if I was deficient.

And here I thought replacing my salt-shaker with Mrs. Dash was going to fix all this crap for me. :-/

Potassium is often left off of foods in MFP. Still, it is so helpful to try to track it. I've been working on keeping mine at least double my sodium. If you think you're low in potassium it's best to reach for a banana or coconut water. All the information I read said to never take a potassium supplement without a doctor's attention. Apparently it can really mess you up.