by Daniel J. Gansle

Created on: April 20, 2009

Is it really possible to live a low-sodium lifestyle?

The American Heart Association recommends that people should eat less than 2,300 milligrams of salt (sodium) per day. However, some groups including mature adults and those with high blood pressure should consume less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day. But with so many foods we eat today containing so much sodium, how can we possibly live a low-sodium lifestyle?

The Three Dietary Enemies of the American Diet

The three nutritional bad boys of the American diet are salt, fat, and sugar. In and of themselves, these three nutrients aren't harmful; in fact, they are necessary for properly bodily function. But combined together in excessively higher amounts, salt, fat, and sugar can have adverse effects on health including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

Sodium: The Shocking Facts About What's In Our Foods

It's no secret that fast food is high in sodium, fat, and sugar. Yet even the healthiest of the "healthy" foods in the grocery store can contain absurdly high levels of sodium. For example, one 8-ounce serving of regular Campbell's Tomato Juice contains a whopping 680mg of sodium. Ironically, the same serving size of Campbell's Organic Tomato Juice contains the exact same concentration of sodium: 680mg.

Soups are another shocker when it comes to high sodium concentrations. For example, one 18.5-ounce can of Progresso Light Chicken Vegetable Rotini Soup contains a whopping 1400mg of sodium. But turn the soup around to the nutritional label, and you'll see the sodium reads 700mg. This is because Progresso counts the soup not as one serving, but two. Yet clearly, most people eat the entire can at a time. Other salt shockers include salad dressings, spaghetti sauces, and popular sports drinks.

How to Live a Low-Sodium Lifestyle

In today's world of mass-manufactured foods, it is not easy to avoid sodium. Sodium is in virtually everything we eat and drink from snacks to lunches, dinners, and even many foods deemed "organic," "healthy," or "natural." So how can we reduce our sodium intake? Here are some tips:

1) Carefully read the nutritional label. After you read the sodium amounts, look at the serving size. If the serving size says "2" and you're eating the entire package, you need to double the amount of sodium listed on the nutritional label for an accurate account of the meal's sodium intake.

2) Cook at home. When you're cooking at home, you control the level of sodium that goes into your food.

3) Look for low-sodium foods in your grocery store. Foods marked "healthy" or "organic" may still have tons of sodium in them. However, foods specifically marked "low sodium" are indeed lower in salt.

Living a low-sodium lifestyle may be challenging in our fast-food world. But once you learn how much salt is in your everyday foods and where to look for lower-sodium foods, it can be done with relative ease.

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