Sunday Sodium Story And a Challenge!

( or I have a new religion!)

There's A Difference Between Salt And Sodium.
Salt and sodium are not the same, but because the two are used interchangeably, people are often confused about the difference. Sodium is a mineral that combines with chlorine to form salt. It is a necessary nutrient that helps your body maintain water balance, transmit nerve impulses and contract muscles.Too much sodium may contribute to high blood pressure and other related diseases. Salt (sodium chloride) is a naturally occurring compound that contains 40% sodium and 60% chlorine. Salt is used to season foods and is the primary source of sodium in our diet. Sodium levels in food are expressed in units of a gram called milligrams (mg). One gram (g) equals 1000 milligrams. 2300 mgs about 1 teaspoon full.

Why Should We Cut Down On Salt?
Although a small amount of sodium (about 500mg) is essential to normal body functions, it is estimated that the average person consumes 4000 to 5000mg a day. It is widely believed that a large amount of dietary sodium could result in high blood pressure (also called hypertension) and may lead to heart attack, stroke or kidney failure. Because we get most of our dietary sodium from salt, health professionals are advising us to eat less salt.

How Much Sodium Do We Need?
Only about 500mg of sodium is essential to your diet. Sodium restricted diets can be as little as 1000mg a day and as much as 4000mg. Rebel is restricted to 2000 mgs per day.

Saltiness is an acquired taste. It's estimated that about 1/4 of our sodium intake comes from salt we add to food in the kitchen. We sprinkle it from the shaker at the table and add it to cooking water and other dishes while preparing them. Salt is added, often in large amounts, to processed or prepared convenience foods such as soups and salad dressings, canned or dry dinner mixes, packaged cookies and crackers, bouillon, sauces, condiments, and dessert mixes. Many canned vegetables are also seasoned with salt.

Cheeses contain salt for preserving as well as for flavour. Smoked or canned meat and fish products such as tuna, ham, bacon, cold cuts, corned beef and sausage are well seasoned with salt. Deli roast beef and turkey breast are often cooked with salt. Marie's comments... *well seasoned* is a euphemism for *too much sodium - waaaaay too much sodium.*

Just because a food is low fat, low sugar, diet, organic or natural, doesn't mean it will be low in sodium. In fact, diet foods usually have MORE sodium which will result in fluid retention. Read the labels.

The Rebel Rule-
If it comes in a box, a package, a can or is fast food...
it has waaaaaay too much sodium in it.

Sodium And Over-The-Counter Medications
Medications can be another unexpected source of sodium in the diet. For example, just two Alka Seltzer tablets contain 1064mg of sodium. Check with your doctor concerning the use of seltzers (Alka Seltzer, Bromo Seltzer), antacids, laxatives, bicarbonate of soda, pain relievers and other preparations.

What Do Food Labels Tell About Sodium Content?
If a nutrition label is not available, you can check the ingredient statement for the presence of salt or other sodium compounds. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, but since the specific weights aren't listed, it only gives you a rough idea of the amount of sodium. Your best bet is to buy only those items with a nutrition label.

OK. Now that you know this. Add up all the sodium in the food you eat for just one day. Anything above 2300 mgs - 1 tsp of salt/sodium.. is overload. Now... the next day, try cutting it only 25%. See what you have to do. Your kidneys, liver, and heart... will appreciate it. Come back and tell me how you did!

copyright protection and know that I was lazy and didn't want to write my own thing.. Why re-invent the wheel right? I took this content pretty much directly from the Wegmans' website. Wegmans is an American grocery store. Their content came up even before the American Heart Association pages during my search which is the ultimate source for anything to do with low sodium information.