Low-Sodium Diet
It's common sense that you need to limit sodium intake, but most of us don't heed the warning.
BACKGROUND
Consuming too much salt can have repercussions for your body. Sodium causes your body to hold more water and as a result, you are more susceptible to kidney stones and high blood pressure, among other health problems. This also contributes to water weight and gives you a misleading number on the scale.
Be more aware of your sodium intake by reading food labels. Salt is a preservative that keeps most frozen, canned and fast-food items tasting fresher and maintaining a longer shelf life. Even if the label says it’s low-fat, low-this, low-that, it probably has a high amount of sodium and you need to skip it. Sometimes, those labels advertise low-sodium, so grab those instead.
A healthy daily intake of sodium on a low-sodium diet is less than 2,000mg (one tsp of salt has almost 2,500mg). The average person is consuming upwards of at least two times this amount. A low-sodium diet doesn’t mean you have to give up flavor. Cook with fresh herbs for delicious aroma and flavor and use fresh meats, seafood and produce for really wonderful taste. Remove salt from your baked goods and replace regular butter and cheese with the unsalted variety. Stay away from packaged, processed goods.
EXERCISE
N/A
EXPENSE
You can buy the book, 500 No-Salt, Low-Sodium Recipes, for help.
PRO
- Limiting sodium is common sense these days, so it only goes to show that this will be a healthy lifestyle.
CON
- None
CONCLUSION
When you start looking at all the things you eat, it’s plain to see how easy it is to live a low-sodium lifestyle. The main strategy is to find tasty herbs and spices that give your foods the flavor you desire without extra salt. Doing so will lower your blood pressure, among other things.
Common misspellings: Low Sodium, Low Sodium Deit, Low-Sodium deit
Jackie: This is smart no matter what diet your on. Low sodium eating helps you not retain water so you will lose weight!
Amanda Maurer: I have a kidney disease and I have to do a Low-Sodium Diet, even if you do not have any health problems, I strongly recommend that you do this diet to greatly reduce/decrease health problems that result from to much Sodium intake.
