How to Maintain a Low Sodium Diet

As a society, we are ingesting far more sodium than we should be and are putting ourselves at risk for high blood pressure, which can lead to hear disease or stroke. Maintaining a low sodium diet means being diligent about reading labels and knowing which foods are OK and which pose a possible health risk.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. The biggest culprit is ordinary table salt. One teaspoon contains the recommended daily allowance. If you’re easy with the shaker, use a low-sodium salt, which would be less than 20 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams of salt. Sea salt is naturally lower in sodium.
2. Buy more fresh foods and less canned foods. Never add salt to canned foods as they are already loaded with sodium.
3. Cut down on processed foods, including smoked and cured meats such as bacon or ham, and sauces such as soy or tamari. If buying them, always choose the low-salt version.
4. Milk is a source of sodium that often gets overlooked. One cup of non-fat or skim milk has 127 milligrams of sodium, with comparable numbers for one and two percent fat, and much higher numbers for canned milk.
5. Read the labels on packaged frozen food items as they pack a lot of sodium. And remember that there may be more than one portion per package so if there is 500 mg. of sodium per serving and the package says it contains two servings, you have to double that number.
6. Go light on condiments, especially pickles, and replace them with herbs. Garlic, oregano, basil, onions, rosemary, and black and red pepper do not have much sodium.

Tips & Warnings

• Cutting down on sodium will throw your taste buds for a loop at first. But stick with it and you’ll soon get accustomed to it and crave it less.