One of the first thing I realized when starting our healthy lifestyle journey was that we were going to have to seriously modify our diet. We had already been trying to eat a low-fat diet. We’d even been transitioning to a more plant-based diet. The thing that we hadn’t been as mindful of was how much sodium we were consuming. Many of the sodium recipes that I had found were loaded with salt. Not just added salt, but salt inherent in the ingredients.
Some Facts About Sodium
Sodium is a necessary element of human nutrition. It is necessary for nerve conduction and muscle function. It helps to maintain proper fluid and mineral levels in our bodies. We require approximately 500 mg of sodium per day to maintain normal function. Most Americans consume close to 3400 mg of sodium per day. The American Heart Association recommends that daily sodium intake should ideally be less than 1500 mg per day and no more than 2300 mg daily maximum. This over-abundance of sodium makes us prone to a variety of chronic ailments including, but not limited to, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Most of our excess sodium comes from processed packaged and prepared foods. One teaspoon of salt contains 2300 mg of sodium. Salt is added to foods as a preservative and as a flavor enhancer. Canned foods and fast foods are loaded with salt. It’s not hard to exceed a daily salt allowance with one fast food meal.
How to Lower Sodium Consumption
Buy fresh foods instead of packaged foods when possible
Read nutritional labels
Prepare your own meals when possible
Use herbs and spices to add flavor to meals
Rinsing canned items removes some of the sodium
Reduce your portion size
Look up nutrition information ahead of time before eating out if possible
So, the challenge is to develop tasty, satisfying, low sodium recipes
Stay tuned for Recipe of the Week Wednesday.
Very much looking forward to the first recipe of the week. I’m glad you’re doing the research so that myself and others can benefit from it. Thank you……