How to Cut Down Sodium in a Diet
Sodium plays an important role in several functions of the human body, including control of blood pressure. However, we have only a small amount of sodium every day. Excessive sodium in diet can increase the risk of heart and kidney diseases in high-risk individuals. Patients with high blood pressure are recommended to cut down sodium in their diet and should not consume more than 2 grams per day.
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Instructions
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Keep track of what you eat and estimate your daily sodium intake. This will help you identify the components of your diet that contain most sodium.
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Gradually reduce sodium in your diet. It is hard to immediately remove salt and it takes time to train yourself to a low-sodium diet.
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Eliminate salt in your cooking. Use spices, lemon, garlic, herbs, flavored vinegar or onions as a replacement for salt.
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When you eat in restaurants, ask the chef to prepare the food without salt. Avoid eating fast-food, which often contains a lot of sodium. When you drink bottled water, make sure that it does not contain sodium.
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Make sure that you only buy food that is low on sodium. Examples of foods low on sodium are whole grain breads, English muffins, bagels, cereals, pasta, rice, potatoes, beans, fresh fruits, vegetables, yogurt, low-sodium cheese and milk. Examples of food containing a lot of sodium are salted or smoked fish or meat, cottage cheese and canned vegetables.
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