Sodium: The Silent Killer

With low sugar, no fat, and less calories hitting the markets like wild fire, less sodium is slow to catch up.  Why haven’t we placed more emphasis on lower sodium items when sodium is more threatening to our health than sugar, fat or calories?  Is it because sodium is hidden in our foods to the point that we can’t even recognize it?

It is recommended that an average American consume 2,300 milligrams per day (the amount of one teaspoon of table salt) according to the Dietary Guidelines, but in fact, we consume about 1.5 times more sodium in a day than we should.  Over doing it leads to much greater health problems like high blood pressure which is a major cause of heart disease.  It also puts our body out of whack when it comes to balancing our need for potassium, calcium, magnesium or other nutrients.

Even if you don’t sprinkle your food with salt, you are still getting an unhealthy dose in processed foods and meals eaten outside of the home.  These contribute to about 80% of our dietary sodium.

Tips on how to reduce your salt intake:

• Lay off the Salt Shaker
• Pay attention to food labels and food ingredients
• Choose Lower-Sodium and No-Salt products
• Add fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products to your diet
• Stay away from items like soy sauce, cheese, and ham when you eat out

How do you recognize Salt hidden in food?  Look for these names for salt listed in the foods ingredients.

Processed Foods:  Sodium Citrate, Sodium Phosphate

Condiments & Seasonings:  monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite, sodium saccharin, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and sodium benzoate

Table Salt:  Sodium Chloride