It’s Mind Boggling How Much Sodium Is In Our Food

So I went to my doctors a few weeks ago and he told me how I had High Blood Pressure, it wasn’t very high, just slightly over the normal range, but serious none the less. He tells me how if I don’t worry about it now, it will just lead me to having all kinds of health issues in the near future. He says I needed to eat more vegetables, exercise and watch my sodium intake, he says that he thinks I can turn it around at my young age and that he doesn’t want to put me on medication as the medication can have some really adverse side effects.

I immediately went home and began doing research, I looked back at my eating habits and realized how horrible my sodium intake really was and no wonder why I had HBP. In one day in particular, I had eaten 4 slices of pizza, from a local Pizza chain, for lunch and 4 slices for dinner. I went to their nutritional website and absolutely just got floored. Each slice was around 700 mgs of sodium. Just from the pizza alone, I had consumed nearly 6,000 mgs of Sodium. I also added hot sauce and their ranch dipping sauce on it. I calculated those meals nearly 8,000 mgs of sodium and I couldn’t even remember if I had any chips or dessert that day, couldn’t even remember what I had for breakfast, BUT it is safe to assume I consumed anywhere from 8,000mgs - 10,000 mgs of Sodium that day. The scary part of it is how high sodium affects the body, and how the daily recommended limit is 2,300 mgs. I understand this isn’t a typical daily diet, but it really made me wonder and I speculate I could have been consuming on average 3-6k mgs of sodium.
No wonder why there are soo many ailments in western countries, I speculate that a lot of it can be attributed to our diets.

I knew what I had to do, I went to work. I looked at all my nutritional labels in my kitchen. Processed foods were the absolute worst! But I knew I would have struggled cutting the foods that I really enjoy and crave so I looked for alternatives. To replace my deli meats, I looked for much healthier and tasty choices. I decided to purchase my own meat slicer and meat, now I slice my own meat to replace the deli meats. I also purchased a meat pressure cooker and food processor to make my own deli cuts. Now, I couldn’t be happier, I’ve been making all kinds of amazing recipes that I absolutely love all while accounting for my macros. Calories, Carbs, Sugars, Sodium, I now manage it all and It’s actually been enjoyable because I find ways to lower my macros all while making/finding food that I enjoy. Just today, I made a really well beef stir fry on white rice that was finger licking delicious. I want to go back to my doctors office and show him that I not only lost some weight, but lowered my blood pressure naturally and learned some new healthy habits that I can apply for the rest of my life. I think it’s important to bring attention to how much sodium we consume on average. I’ve learned sooo much valuable nutritional information, I’ve been a changed man since I last saw my doctor. Anyway, best of luck everyone, stay on your goals, you can do it! Believe in yourself always!!