How to Eat a Low Sodium Diet
The average American consumes approximately 10,000mg of sodium per day, even though the National Institute of Health recommends 2,400mg or less per day. For people with health issues, restricting daily sodium intake to 1,500mg (or less) can seem impossible. However, a low-sodium diet doesn't mean a lifetime of bland meals. Not only can a low-sodium diet be flavorful, you will adjust to it as you reap all its health benefits. Read on to learn more.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
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Shopping
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1
Read labels, paying attention to serving sizes. Look for foods with labels that say no salt added, unsalted, reduced sodium, lower sodium or sodium free.
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2
Avoid labels that say food is in brine, cured, pickled, smoked or marinated. These are salty words.
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3
Realize that looking for lower-sodium foods has gotten easier as the demand has increased. Most supermarkets now have no-salt foods such as ketchups, chips, peanut butter and crackers. Many health food and organic stores have even more options.
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4
Purchase fresh fruits and vegetables in your produce aisles. If you need frozen vegetables, look for items without sauce or seasoning. Sometimes you can occasionally find organic frozen French fries with no salt added.
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5
Search for a low-sodium baking powder. Featherweight baking powder by Hain works well for many recipes and is easily found online or in health-food stores.
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6
Be patient. When you first begin grocery shopping, it will take a long time. You will be reading the labels of many different products. However, after a few trips to the store, you'll start to know which brands are lower sodium or salt free and get a routine. Eventually, your shopping will go quickly.
Cooking
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1
Eliminate table salt and stop including salt when you cook, even if the recipe calls for it. If you must include salt, put in less than the recipe calls for. Remember that foods have sodium in them naturally already, even fruits and vegetables.
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2
Get some low-salt cookbooks. Most low-salt/no-salt cookbooks include the amount of sodium for each recipe; this will help you plan your meals. Anything that is geared towards a healthy heart or healthy eating should also help you.
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3
Experiment with herbs and spices, vinegars or lemon and lime.
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4
Make your own salt-free bread or pizza dough; it's a great way to help you stay on your low sodium diet. There are several recipes available that use ingredients like honey, molasses or whole-wheat flours. If you're nervous about making breads by hand, a bread machine is an easy alternative.
Eating Out
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1
Plan ahead. If you know that a meal out is in your future, try to eat lower-sodium meals for breakfast and lunch before heading out to dinner.
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2
Patronize higher-end restaurants where meals are prepared upon order. Whenever possible, look for meals that are grilled, broiled, steamed or roasted.
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3
Ask the waiter to have the chef not salt your meal. Usually, they are willing to accommodate you as much as possible.
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4
Order things plain, with no condiments and dressings on the side to keep the sodium levels down. Oil and vinegar are great options for dressing a salad. You can always carry your own condiments to spice up a meal if you wish.
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5
Eat only half of your meal if you know it is higher in sodium than your diet allows.
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6
Avoid ordering fried food, soups or any entrée with sauces. Batters, soups and sauces are typically very salty and can take up too much of your daily allotment.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Lower sodium foods will taste different at first, but don't get discouraged. If you stick with your diet, in 6 to 8 weeks your salt cravings will decrease and your taste buds will adjust. Also, sticking to low-sodium diet helps many people lose weight.
Talk to your doctor and talk to a nutritionist to help get you started.
If you don't live near a store with many low-sodium options, try shopping online. There are several great low-sodium merchants that will ship your orders to you.
Chili powders, curry powders, barbecue sauces and some salsas can be very salty. Making your own is relatively easy and very tasty. The spices especially last a long time and keep well. You can make most sauces or salsas in bigger batches and frozen. Doughs and breads also freeze well.
Be aware that a "reduced sodium" or "lower sodium" item may still have too much sodium for your diet. For example, "lower sodium" seasoning pouches can still have over 300mg.
If you're taking a prescribed diuretic or other medication, be aware that some salt substitutes contain high levels of potassium, which can affect your medication. Always check with your doctor.
