SODIUM CRISIS

Prepare your food in your kitchen. That's really the easiest way to control sodium. Limit your bread intake to tiny bits occasionally. Bread is a high-salt food. Restaurant food is highly salted. You can easily get your sodium way under 1500 by merely preparing your own food in your own kitchen.

Making your food at home is really key to this. Even healthy options at restaurants have crazy amounts of sodium. Grocery shop around the outside of the store (fresh produce, meat, seafood, dairy). Deli meat also has a ton of sodium. Cheeses can be up there too. If you know that you're going out for lunch for example, just aim to have lower sodium options for your other meals. I've lost over 100lbs and have been able to stop taking my blood pressure meds completely! You can do this! My diary is open if you want to look.

Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »

I need to lower my sodium as well. I usually have >10,000mg. I don't have any issues so I haven't been really harping down on myself to change. But I have tried things that worked in the past. For example, where does most of your sodium come from? Maybe buy no salt pretzels, no salt mustard, low sodium/no sodium varieties of your favorite condiments, no pickles, etc.

You eat more than 10,000 mg a day? Where does most of that come from?

Only way to do it is to use raw foods and prepare them yourself without added salt. If you buy anything pre-packaged it's going to have added sodium because its used as a preservative and a flavor enhancer. Things you can do:

-You can make your own condiments and dressings without added sodium. It's a pain, yes, but it can be done. They may not keep as long as the sodium-filled versions so make small batches, store in the fridge.
-Buy meats and vegetables raw, cook them yourself, use seasonings and spices without added sodium
-Stay away from soda, drink lots of water.. up to a gallon a day.
-Stay away from fast food completely.
-Eat potassium rich vegetables. Potassium can help negate the effects of sodium in the body.

There's some discussion that a 'normal' amount might be healthy at between 3000 and 6000mg per day for healthy individuals. But if you already have hypertension, you certainly want to stay in the current recommended range if not under it.

The more vegetables the better. Vegetables are high in potassium, which helps balance the sodium.

I average around 2000mg - some days higher, some lower. When I buy packaged foods at the store, I read the labels for sodium content and I don't add salt to most things when I eat them. Some items like packaged soups are terrible for sodium -- as are many fast food meals. But not all are bad.

I had a vegan meal from a place called Snap Kitchen for lunch yesterday; it came in at 1420mg of sodium, but my total for the day was 2300mg. Tuesday my total was 1385mg: highest item was a bowl of noodles with peanut sauce and tofu for lunch at a restaurant called Freshii's here in downtown Chicago -- it weighed in at 640mg. Last Saturday, it was 1153; here as an example is what I had to eat on Saturday. I'm eating vegan until Christmas for religious reasons, normally I do eat meat and dairy.

Breakfast - Soy milk, banana, Raisin Nut Bran (340mg)

Light Lunch - almonds, an apple, half and half with coffee (185mg)

Dinner - Kashi Amaranth Plaintain Bowl, Bai Coconut Drink, for dessert I had Silk dairy free yogurt with a quarter cup of Milk & Honey granola and a tablespoon of coconut cream (578mg)

Snacks - four Werther's sugar free caramels in the evening (50mg)

So for me it's just a matter of reading labels and making lower sodium choices when I'm shopping. I'm on multiple meds for hypertension, have been since the 1980s, and my hypertension is under control. I've also found that my BP isn't particularly sensitive to the amount of sodium in my diet but I do try to keep it down below the recommended levels.

You are not the only one, I am always over my sodium frequently. I haven't been diagnosed w/ pre hypertension but im borderline. I have been at it 110 days still dont have the hang of keeping sodium down. & I cook breakfast & dinner but lunch time is usually whatever the cafe at work is serving ( healthier option of course)