by Erin Yarrobino

Created on: May 30, 2008   Last Updated: July 01, 2011

Lots of people think that if they are eating soup, they are eating healthy. Soup has a low number of calories, and it fills me up to help me lose weight. True, but it also has one thing that is no benefit - lots of sodium. You cannot deny this as you walk through the canned soup aisle at the supermarket. The average brand of soup has 840-950 milligrams of salt, and this is only per serving. The total servings of soup in a can is about 2.5. This is almost your total allowance of sodium for the day. As you know, consuming high levels of salt contributes to health issues like hypertension, high cholesterol, and heart disease. With these being at high incidences, we must do something to stop it.

To choose healthier options for buying store soups, choose the low-sodium option. There are brands with this option, such as Campbell's and also Progresso. They usually have around 450-500 milligrams of salt, so it is practically cut in half. Pritikin is also a good but less well-known brand. They offer low-sodium soups as well. You cannot do anything about the featured filling in the soup, such as chicken or beef, but this is not the main source of the salt. The liquid part is what you must watch out for. If this is still a concern for you, choose vegetable, minestrone, or chicken instead of beef. These have beans and vegetables, things which are on the daily food pyramid.

If you are making your own soup at home, buy a broth from the store that is low in sodium. this is never too hard, or if you are starting from scratch, you basically get broth from chicken. You need water and a bowl. The hard part is over. Now, what are you going to add to your soup? Just choose from what your daily needs are. Add in vegetables like carrots, corn, peas, lima beans, string beans, and even some broccoli. If you want more protein, go for kidney beans or pinto beans. Beans are a wonderful source of fiber, and regulate blood sugar levels. They also fill you up, leaving you less likely to eat more. There is never added sodium in frozen vegetables, or bagged beans, so your problem is already solved.

Few things are better than soup on a cold winter day, but I love soup in the summer as well. If you have it in the summer, you are more likely to sweat out the sodium, but this gives you no excuse to eat more of it. Eating less helps to control your breathing ability when exercising, something that is also good for keeping blood pressure and cholesterol in check. studies have shown that people who ate soup before lunch or dinner ate 50% less at the meal, so eating soup is a great way to lose weight as well. Obesity contributes to the above-named conditions.

Whatever the weather, if you are thinking about what to have with lunch or dinner, have some soup. It gives you more satisfaction and health benefits than any fried or salty side dish could ever give.

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