Shakin' it up with the
Skinny on Salt
The Danger is Not in
the Shaker
-- By Laura Bofinger,
Staff Writer
Even if you are not a potato
chip and pretzel junkie, you’re probably eating more
salt than you realize. Sodium, the main ingredient in
table salt, can hide in places you don’t suspect, like
in ketchup, frozen dinners, instant hot cereals and
some medications.
What’s Harmful About Sodium?
High levels of sodium can cause the body to retain too
much fluid. This can be harmful to people with high
blood pressure or heart, liver or kidney diseases. People
with these conditions should be especially careful about
sodium intake. But, there’s some debate on whether everyone
needs to worry about all of this salt talk. We’ll listen
to the USDA, who recommends that we need to choose and
prepare foods with less sodium. The average American
adult consumes about 2,500 to 5,000 milligrams of sodium
a day. But we only need 1,100 to 3,300 milligrams, or
about 1/2 to 1-1/2 teaspoons. That can be a pretty big
difference.
Where are we getting so
much sodium in our diets?
Think about all the times we add salt during cooking
or as a seasoning to a prepared meal. Surprisingly,
our own salt shaking doesn’t compare to the major sources
of “hidden” sodium in our diets found in processed foods
and baked products. Some examples include salad dressings,
mustard, meat tenderizer, cheeses, instant foods, pickles,
canned vegetables and soups, salsa and barbecue sauce.
Even common medications such as antacids, laxatives
and cough remedies contain sodium compounds.
The keys to watching our
sodium levels are to be aware of which foods have a
high sodium content and to limit how much of those foods
we eat. Practice checking the nutrition facts labels
of packaged foods for the exact sodium content per serving.
Some label terms can help our purchase decisions:
Term = Meaning
• sodium free or salt free = less than 5 milligrams
of sodium per serving
• low sodium = 140 milligrams or less of sodium per
serving
• reduced or less sodium = at least 25% less sodium
than the food’s standard serving
• light sodium = 50% less sodium than the food's standard
serving
• unsalted or no salt added = no salt added during processing,
but could contain naturally occurring sodium
Steps to Reduce Your Sodium
• Limit your use of the salt shaker. Try a shaker with
smaller holes.
• Substitute salt seasoning with other flavorings, such
as onion, garlic, lemon, vinegar, black pepper, or parsley.
• Choose fresh, frozen or canned vegetables without
added salt.
• Cook fresh or frozen fish, poultry and meat more often
than canned or processed forms.
• Compare the amounts of sodium in various brands of
frozen dinners, packaged mixes, cereals, cheese, breads,
salad dressings, soups and sauces. Sodium content varies
widely among different brands.
• Rinse canned beans and vegetables to remove added
salt before cooking.
• Choose foods labeled “low sodium,” “reduced sodium”
or “sodium free.”
• Know how much sodium is in your favorite condiments,
especially soy sauce, steak sauce, ketchup and salsa.
Limit your intake accordingly.
• Avoid foods with MSG (monosodium glutamate), particularly
when dining out. You can ask to have your meal prepared
without MSG.
• Try to limit your daily sodium intake to less than
2,300 milligrams.
One thing that the experts do agree on is that getting
a balanced diet with more fruits and vegetables is more
important than obsessing over one ingredient like sodium.
So it’s good to be mindful of how much sodium you’re
taking in, but concentrate more on an overall nutritious
diet.
