Sodium

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borichfan
borichfan Posts: 208 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I got to reading labels in the grocery store and sodium is in everything, even Ketchup. Since my blood pressure has been registering a little high, i was wanting to cut out sodium, but what do i eat? I know fruits and vegetables are good, but what else?

Replies

  • AnnaPixie
    AnnaPixie Posts: 7,439 Member
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    It's very hard to cut out sodium completely, so I wouldnt aim that way. Pretty much everything has got sodium in it. But that's good, as you always need SOME sodium in your body to keep it healthy.

    What you should be aiming for is to cut out HIGH sodium foods. That is basically anything that is processed. So if it comes in a tin or a box, its usually processed.

    That pretty much just leaves fresh, natural food. Fresh, lean chicken/meat/fish. All veg. All fruit. Nuts (unsalted) and grains, beans and pulses. Go for the low sodium tins if you dont want to boil from raw.

    But cutting down on take-aways (e.g. I could not beleive how much salt was in KFC!!), ready made food/ tv dinners and the like, will help a lot.

    Good luck :flowerforyou:
  • drvvork
    drvvork Posts: 1,162
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    I would like to see responses to this... sodium is NOT my friend. :flowerforyou:
  • crazybxrmom
    crazybxrmom Posts: 62 Member
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    You cant cut out all sodium as your body needs it. My dr said for high blood presure or on the verge of, keep sodium at 150 to 1800 mg per day. He prefers the lower end. He also said the more water we drink and walking we do the better our body will self balance our sodium levels.

    Good luck and just keep making healthy choices and that blood pressure will get better.
  • Kevster75
    Kevster75 Posts: 106
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    Hey Becky,

    Hope this helps............

    *****Low Sodium Foods*****
    1-150 mg per serving
    # Beverages Beer, wine, coffee, tea
    # Fruit drinks, soda pop, Kool-Aid
    # Breads and Cereals Breads, white, whole grain
    # Cakes, cookies, crepes, doughnuts
    # Cereals: cooked, granola, puffed rice, puffed wheat, Shredded Wheat
    # Crackers: graham, low salt, melba toast
    # Pasta: macaroni, noodles, spaghetti, rice
    # Condiments Butter, margarine, oil
    # Horseradish, mustard, spices, herbs, sugar, syrup, Tabasco, vinegar
    # Dairy Products Cheeses: cream, Monterey, Mozzarella, Ricotta, low salt types
    # Cream: half & half, sour, whipping
    # Ice cream, sherbet
    # Milk
    # Non-dairy creamer
    # Fruits and Vegetables All fresh fruits and vegetables
    # Frozen fruits and vegetables (without sauces)
    # Vegetables, canned: low sodium or rinsed
    # Main Dishes All unprocessed meats, fish, and poultry
    # Eggs
    # Peanut butter
    # Tuna: low sodium or canned that you rinse
    # Snacks Low salt products
    # Nuts, unsalted
    # Popcorn, unsalted


    *****Medium Sodium Foods*****
    150-250 mg per serving
    # Bread and Cereals Biscuits, rolls, muffins - 1
    # Pancakes - 1
    # Ready-to-eat cereals - 3/4 cup
    # Saltine crackers - 6
    # Sweet roll - 1
    # Condiments Gravy - 2 tablespoons
    # Ketchup - 1 tablespoon
    # Mayonnaise - 2 tablespoons
    # Pickles, sweet - 2 small
    # Relish - 2 tablespoons
    # Salad dressing - 1 tablespoon
    # Soy sauce, low sodium
    # Dairy products Cheeses - 1 oz
    # Cottage cheese - 1/2 cup
    # Pudding - 3/4 cup
    # Vegetables Tomato and vegetable juice - 1/2 cup
    # Vegetables, canned - 1/2 cup
    # Snacks Corn chips - 1 cup
    # Potato chips - 1 cup
    # Snack crackers - 5-10

    *****Low sodium food labels*****
    Salt free: Less than 5 milligrams sodium per serving.

    Sodium free: Less than 5 milligrams sodium per serving.

    No Salt added: No salt added during processing; does not necessarily mean sodium free.

    Very Low Sodium: 35 milligrams or less sodium per serving.

    Low Sodium: 140 milligrams or less per serving.

    Light in Sodium: 50% less sodium (as compared with a standard serving size of the traditional food), restricted to foods with more than 40 calories per serving or more than 3 grams of fat per serving.

    Less Sodium or Reduced Sodium: At least 25% less sodium (as compared with a standard serving size of the traditional food).

    Read the Nutrition Facts Label to compare the amount of sodium in processed foods - such as frozen dinners, packaged mixes, cereals, cheese, soups, breads, salad dressings, and sauces.

    Read the Percent Daily Value (DV) on the Nutrition Facts Label to compare the amount of sodium among brands.

    Choose those foods that have lower values. Compare the amounts you will eat to the serving size given. Always read food labels and do the math. The sodium content on the nutritional panel is based on the number of servings the package states. Example: a can of soup may say 770 mg of sodium but bases that number on 2.5 servings. 770 x 2.5 = 1,925 mg of sodium in that can of soup.
  • yojibalinese
    yojibalinese Posts: 38
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    Just get low sodium foods. Low sodium tuna fish has 70mg of salt, regular pouches have 300g. Use Better than Peanut Butter Low Sodium than regular Jif. Get low sodium ketchup. If you want veggies in a can, get the Del Monte No Salt Added (the corn has like 10mg of salt, the greenbeans 20mg).

    Eat soynuts! 120 cal, 20mg sodium and 8g protein for 1/4 cup (it sounds like so little but it takes me 30 minutes to eat these because they're so little) for the honey roasted. It takes just like kettle corn (sweet corn).

    I've been very conscious about my salt as well. I simply look for low sodium foods.
  • borichfan
    borichfan Posts: 208 Member
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    Thanks guys for the ideas.
  • blackbsm
    blackbsm Posts: 32 Member
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    I started watching my sodium intake a couple of weeks ago. I too was shocked at the amount in most all the foods I was eating, but I have started reading labels on everything at the grocery store. I have found several alternatives. Heinz has a No Salt added Ketchup, Wishbone makes a Salad Spritzer Ranch vinegarette that is much lower in sodium that traditional salad dressings. Tonight while shopping, I discovered tomatoe sauce with no salt added, which I plan on using in spaghetti sauce and/or chili. Also found that some of the frozen, steam in the microwave vegetables have no sodium, whereas the regular canned ones are outrageous. And lastly, I found a butter, Smart Balance whipped that has nearly 1/4 the sodium as others. Last week I figured out to buy instant potato flakes and prepare without the salt and you save extreme sodium there.

    Oh, and I love to bake by boneless, skinless chicken coated in BBQ sauce & top with melted shredded cheese. I was shocked by the amount of sodium in BBQ sauce. Well I discovered that if I measure out what I use that it only takes 1/2 serving of the BBQ and the cheese to actually season to my tasting.

    Sorry to ramble, just wanted to share a few things I have learned.
  • Jennwith2ns
    Jennwith2ns Posts: 296 Member
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    Ahhh sodium is my forever enemy! From what I have seen in my personal diet, processed and frozen food has the most. A frozen dinner can have 2,000 g in it! INSANE! I try my very best to keep my sodium low. Some days I don't go over or only by a little bit, some days I go over by 1,000.
  • GliderGirl
    GliderGirl Posts: 7
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    Does MFP give you a set sodium level to maintain? i did not find one and they set everything else up so i was just assuming they would. i caught myself drinking a diet soda and noticed the sodium level. should i be cutting back on the diet soda because of the sodium? could anyone help me with this? please? id appreciate it very much. =]
  • abyt42
    abyt42 Posts: 1,358 Member
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    Does MFP give you a set sodium level to maintain? i did not find one and they set everything else up so i was just assuming they would. i caught myself drinking a diet soda and noticed the sodium level. should i be cutting back on the diet soda because of the sodium? could anyone help me with this? please? id appreciate it very much. =]

    Under "Food" change your settings, and alter "Track Nutrients" to count sodium....
  • borichfan
    borichfan Posts: 208 Member
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    I am drinking Diet Rite sodas. I think they are the only sodas that don't have any sodium in them.
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
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    Something else to consider is the benefit of watching your potassium also. Potassium helps your body get rid of excess sodium. (I'm not exactly clear on how it works, I even asked the Bio teacher at work to explain it to me, but I STILL didn't understand:ohwell: )

    A while after I started tracking my sodium, I started tracking my potassium. :noway: My potassium was EXTREMELY LOW! :noway: The reason why: potassium is leached out during the processing of food. The further a food is from the field, the less potassium it has (and, typically, the more sodium!) I love strawberries (good for potassium), cantelope (GREAT for potassium) and milk (also good for potassium). Of course, there's the old stand by of a banana. Spinach is another fresh food that is good. Sweet potatoes (eat the skin, too, though), white potatoes (I know, Satan's food, but the skin has a lot in it), and a whole slew of others.

    Keeping your sodium down, and getting your potassium up (which happen to work well together!) will help you out.

    My only caution about potassium is that TOO much can be just as detrimental as too little. I don't know if it's physically possible to eat enough foods to maintain a high potassium level, but it CAN be bad if you do!

    Hope this helps!
  • silver12176
    silver12176 Posts: 70 Member
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    You also have to watch canned things. They are usally higher in sodium. I like using steam bag veg. The more fresh you do the better.
  • johnthefatman
    johnthefatman Posts: 205
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    Only one thing to add CANNED SOUP - the devils hooch often has 50% + GDA sodium in one portion - just make your own - its easy and almost free as you can get rid of many leftovers in a stock pot!

    J
  • irridia
    irridia Posts: 527 Member
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    Does MFP give you a set sodium level to maintain? i did not find one and they set everything else up so i was just assuming they would. i caught myself drinking a diet soda and noticed the sodium level. should i be cutting back on the diet soda because of the sodium? could anyone help me with this? please? id appreciate it very much. =]

    You shouldn't be drinking soda at all. Everything about it is bad. The carbonation in it actually leaches calcium from your teeth, & bones, diet varieity or no. Drink water and vitamin water (it has roughly 100 calories per bottle). Eventually you won't even miss it anymore and on the occasion you take a sip it won't taste good to you anymore.

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