by Brian Lamacraft

Created on: April 17, 2009

Many people find it difficult to reduce the amount of sodium in their diet. There are some steps you can take right now to drastically reduce the amount of sodium you consume on any given day.

Switch To Herbs/Spices

When cooking meals, use herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor your food. Your food will be very flavorful with the use of herbs and spices you won't miss the salt. If you do use some salt try sea-salt which is healthier then plain table salt. Just use a small amount of sea salt in your cooking. You also need to be careful with many condiments such as soy sauce which is very high in salt. If you use condiments try to purchase low-salt varieties or skip them all together. Many Asia style sauces are high in sodium as well as regular condiments. Be sure to check the bottles for the salt content. When in doubt just use herbs and spices.

Avoid Canned Soups

Canned soup is very high in sodium. These products should be avoided all together. They may be convenient but the sodium content is just too high. Even the lower salt versions are still too high in sodium. It is better to make your own soup at home where you can control the amount of salt that goes into the soup. Condensed soup and even powdered soup has salt as one of the main ingredients.

Processed Packaged Food

Most processed food contains high levels of sodium which is used to enhance the flavor of the food. Frozen dinners, canned food, cereals, chips deli meat, and crackers all contain too much sodium. Be very cautious of dried mixes such as Mexican food seasonings, dried gravies, and beef bullion cubes as these products are high in sodium as well. The problem with our packaged food lifestyle is that sodium is a main ingredient and when we consume packaged food we just get too much salt, sugar and additives.

Switch To A Produce Based Diet

One of the easiest ways to reduce your sodium consumption is to stay clear of packaged food altogether and eat a more plant based diet. Fruits and vegetables provide the vitamins and minerals we need to function properly without all the added salt you find in processed food. Eating these foods will help you lower your sodium intake drastically on a daily basis. Serve salads with homemade oil based dressings, add vegetables to meat dishes, and have vegetable soups. These are just a few ideas to get more vegetables into your diet.

Avoid Fast Food

Fast food may taste good but this food is full of sodium. You need to be careful dining out. If you do eat out try to eat salads and vegetable based meals more often then meat. Make dining out an occasional teat and not a daily occurrence. You will cut back on the salt intake and still be able to enjoy yourself during a special occasion.

Try Unsalted Snacks

You can get healthy unsalted nuts and seeds in bulk. These make great snacks and are only unhealthy when they are covered in salt-based coatings. You can find unsalted crackers and other similar snacks as well.

We consume too much salt in our diet. Switch to whole foods like fruits and vegetables and try to cook moreat home where you can control what goes into your food. Watch out for processed food and read the labels carefully. Try unsalted snacks if you get the urge and soon you will be living a lower sodium based diet.

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