Nasty Surprise Involving Soy Sauce

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13

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  • trulycrazed
    trulycrazed Posts: 79 Member
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    Just wanted to add that not getting enough sodium can be just as dangerous as getting too much.
    It can lead to heart problems (heart attack) and stroke, oddly enough...
    I simply wanted to add this as I personally hate salt. This resulted in heart palpitations and a fluttering heart beat that couldn't be explained. I did my own research and realized that it was because I was eating as low as 800mgs of sodium per day while working out (sweating)... Now I have to track my intake to make sure I intake at least 1200mgs, preferably 1600mgs.
    So keep this in mind and don't run off to the extreme thinking it's the healthy way!
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
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    Oh yes, I can relate! Only this morning I was munching one whole ball of mozzarella cheese, enjoying it in blissful ignorance. Then I added it to MFP and actually looked at the calories. HOLY GUACAMOLE!!!!! It added a whole 309 calories to my breakfast! You can be sure now that a) I won't be eating a whole ball again, and b) I'll look at the calories first if I don't know them yet, before I eat something. *rolls eyes*

    I switched to the low fat mozzarella for that very reason. It's too easy to chuck the entire ball on a homemade pizza to use anyway but the low fat version.
  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
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    I'm going to experiment with low sodium seasons for my rice and see what I can come up with. I think I may even quit soy sauce altogether.

    Have you ever tried cooking the rice in a low-sodium broth? Adds a lot of flavor with very little sodium.
  • You_Can_Be
    You_Can_Be Posts: 26 Member
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    Oatcakes, Mackerel fillets and rice cakes were a wake up for me. I had no idea they were so calorific.
    :noway:
  • dovek11
    dovek11 Posts: 94 Member
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    I was using the database to log avocados in the diary. "1 medium". When I got a food scale and began weighing them, I was easily eating TWICE the amount daily!

    I always use the scale now when I can. Not measuring by 1/2 cup, or medium size... but the actual weight.

    I also am the opposite of the OP. I set the sodium so I could see it, and since I eat no processed foods, I found I wasn't getting enough sodium. No wonder I wasn't feeling 'right' this hot summer. I now measure my salt intake every day to insure I am getting enough.
  • SurfinBird1981
    SurfinBird1981 Posts: 517 Member
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    I live in Taiwan right now, it is in everything!
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
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    Oatcakes, Mackerel fillets and rice cakes were a wake up for me. I had no idea they were so calorific.
    :noway:

    I give no care to the calories in mackeral or avocados, theyre delicious and full of good fats. Yum.
  • Hakarn
    Hakarn Posts: 62 Member
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    I was shocked when it came to serving sizes for 3 things in particalar: nuts and nut butter, coffee creamer, and cereal. When I stopped "eyeballing" and pulled out my measuring cups and spoons, I was shocked!
    ^
    One lady I worked would eyeball a serving of peanut butter. I told her she was using at least twice the size she was supposed to. When you actually measure it, a serving of PB is barely enough to cover a piece of bread :)

    I had the cereal thing also. It turns out it is not so bad once you start measuring it. But definitely eyeballing cereal does not work.
  • whyutellmelies
    whyutellmelies Posts: 4 Member
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    The amount of calories in booze always surprises me. ;(
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    No, I read food labels, so I don't need my MFP diary to tell me something is "that bad."
  • kitigonkukoo
    kitigonkukoo Posts: 218 Member
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    a note for sodium:

    take 2 weeks, and elimate all or as much sodium from your diet as possible. Just two weeks! Then add it back in slowly... you'll be SHOCKED at how much you can taste it in things you never could before...
  • PuggleLover
    PuggleLover Posts: 261 Member
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    I love soy sauce... I hate when I am reminded of its high sodium.
  • danapattison
    danapattison Posts: 1
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    Me too!!! I love cottage cheese and was so sad to see the sodium level. Also canned black beans. Here I thought I was being so healthy!
  • heddy90
    heddy90 Posts: 144 Member
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    I was using the database to log avocados in the diary. "1 medium". When I got a food scale and began weighing them, I was easily eating TWICE the amount daily!

    I always use the scale now when I can. Not measuring by 1/2 cup, or medium size... but the actual weight.
    I hope you didn't count the weight of the nut and the peel ;)
  • ritsq83
    ritsq83 Posts: 2
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    I just wanted to point out that in most Asian cuisine (Japanese, Korean, and Chinese) - soy sauce is used as salt.

    They add soy sauce instead of salt to get the right level of seasoning necessary for the dish, and it adds flavor(umami) as well. It's not uncommon to see little bottles of soy sauce on dining tables the same way most Americans have a salt and pepper shaker on their table.

    The main reason that East Asian "dishes" are on the saltier side is because they are designed to be eaten with rice. Rice by itself is almost flavorless and hard to eat, so people will eat a small portion of a dish in order to get a large bowl of rice down. In more destitute times (such as Japan post-WW2, Korea post-Korean war, China up to the 80s etc.) families would often cut out the middleman and just eat rice with a bit of soy sauce.

    So, don't treat soy sauce as a "sauce", and eat smaller portions with a larger portion of (preferably brown) rice.
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
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    Just an FYI, many (if not all) the spray butters our there have a salty taste with zero salt or fat. Sometimes I just pour it on my rice.
    That really helped me. I don't like it plain either.

    I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this comment.

    http://www.feedmeimcranky.com/2011/01/15/lies-damned-lies-butter-sprays/
  • ktull68
    ktull68 Posts: 19
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    Just an FYI, many (if not all) the spray butters our there have a salty taste with zero salt or fat. Sometimes I just pour it on my rice.
    That really helped me. I don't like it plain either. I don't pour the whole bottle but enough to get the buttery taste.
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
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    I don't pour the whole bottle but enough to get the buttery taste.

    If you're pouring it at all, you're getting many more calories than the nutrition facts label suggests.
  • ktull68
    ktull68 Posts: 19
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    I'm sorry this affected you so deeply. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!
  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
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    Me too!!! I love cottage cheese and was so sad to see the sodium level. Also canned black beans. Here I thought I was being so healthy!

    Many, but not all, supermarkets will carry "no salt added" cottage cheese. That's what I buy. I just like the taste better. The regular stuff is so salty that I find it offensive.

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