Limit Sodium

Many people can reduce their chance of developing high blood pressure by reducing the sodium content of their diet.  A  high sodium intake also increases the loss of calcium from bone, leading to osteoporosis.  Healthy adults and children only need to consume 1/4 teaspoon of salt daily to meet their sodium needs.  The Nutrition Facts label lists 2,400 milligrams as the upper limit for sodium intake.  That is the amount of sodium in about 1 teaspoon of salt.  Surprisingly, most of the sodium in our food doesn't come from the salt shaker, but instead comes from processed foods.  Take a look at these high sodium food sources and see if you can stay below 2,300 milligrams per day.

Here is a list of foods that are high in sodium:

• Foods prepared in brine - pickles, olives, sauerkraut

• Tomato products - salsa, taco sauce, canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, seasoned salts, and MSG (monosodium glutamate)

• Canned vegetables, canned and instant soups, canned broths, and bouillon cubes

• Condiments - catsup, mustards, salad dressings, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce

• Cheese-processed, cottage cheese

• Seasonings - taco, dry soup packets, gravy

• Luncheon meats, hot dogs, sausage, canned meat, canned fish

• Snack items - pretzels, popcorn, peanuts, potato chips, crackers

• Boxed pasta and rice (most of the sodium is in the enclosed seasoning packets)

• Convenient dinners can be high in sodium.  Those that are geared towards the health conscience consumer often limit their sodium to 500 milligrams per serving.

As a guideline, a product that contains 5% or less Daily Value (DV) for sodium on the Nutrition Facts label is a low source of sodium.

ADDITIONAL TOPICS TO HELP YOU:

You will find the following nutrition tools helpful.  Cooking With MyPyramid is a family cookbook with helpful tips, nutritious and delicious recipes, and contains many challenges to motivate you to prepare recipes and make changes.  The book comes with a Healthy Snack Turn™ to help you select nutritious foods at the grocery store and a Your Pyramid Connections Slide Guide™ to help you determine your recommended daily food groups and amounts based on your age, activity, and gender.  Each can be ordered separately or as a set.  The cookbook comes with the tools and is $14.95.  Individually the tools are $3.50 each. 

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