Hi Herbies. It's Papa Herbivore again.
I wanted to share with all the fellow Herbies and other family and
friends who may not be there yet, the significance of being aware of
and controlling salt/sodium intake and some of my views and
experiences.
[Editorial note: After my Dad had a heart attack , he was required to go on a very low sodium diet. The topic of salt became very interesting to him, and now he's a bit of an expert on the topic ;) He (and our entire family) have since become very mindful of our salt intake.]
First, some facts: Salt (sodium) is a mineral found in almost all the foods we eat, and in some cases there is an over-abundance of it. The body needs salt to keep fluids balanced in the body.
However, most people eat foods with more sodium than they need. Some foods may be high in sodium and not taste salty.
According to the Harvard Medical Journal, adults age 51 and older, persons of African-American descent, people with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease, should limit their sodium intake. (These persons are considered "at risk.")
Following a low sodium diet helps control high blood pressure (hypertension), swelling, and water build-up. A low sodium diet can help decrease breathing difficulties caused when the weakened heart has difficulty pumping excess fluid out of the body.
The average American consumes about 3,400-4,000 mgs of sodium per day.
If you are not one of the above risk persons, you should intake no more than 2,300-2,500 mgs/day. If you are at risk then your limit should be no more than 1,500 mgs of sodium/per day.
A frozen dinner could have an entire days worth of sodium in one meal!!
From my experience, let's start with the salt shaker (or lack thereof). Up to 15 years ago I used to freely salt all my foods. (By the way, I never had high blood pressure).
After my first heart stent, I reduced using it to just some selected foods. Since I went plant-based almost 2 years ago, from having had a mild heart attack, I stopped using the salt shaker totally.
One a few things I use Morton's salt substitute . For 1/4 tsp. it has -0- mgs of sodium as compared to 1/4 tsp of Morton's regular salt at 590 mgs (quite a difference and tastes good as well).
As written by Angela Medearis in "Tidbits", "You may think you like salt so much that you could never give it up. Just remember you were not born loving salt, we develop a taste for it. If you work at it you can desire it less. When you do you will savor the natural flavor of food more."
There are many things you can do to reduce sodium intake. The main ones are:
---Ease up or stop using the salt shaker
---Limit the use of canned, processed, and frozen foods
---Cook with herbs and spices instead of salt
---Read labels and choose low-sodium foods
When I went plant-based, Lindsay increased my awareness on reading
food labels. Now I do it diligently with emphasis on sodium content.
There have been some which have been eye-opening to me and I'd like to
share a cross-section of them.
Keep in mind two things: first, how fast your daily requirement can add up, and second, don't just focus at the sodium content but also on the serving size. If you eat more cereal in one sitting than 1 cup, or more dressing than 2 tbsp, then the intake is increased. It doesn't take too many items to get to your limit.
(How much salsa do you eat in one sitting? I bet it's more than 2 tbsps.)
(I know I eat more than 5 olives per sitting!)
Processed food example