9 Easy Tips to Reduce Your Sodium Intake
Sodium. A mineral that can make food taste so good! Like fat and sugar, most people consume plenty of sodium without even trying.
Roles of Sodium
- fluid, acid-base, and electrolyte balance
- the primary ion for maintaining proper fluid balance outside cells
- muscle contraction
- nerve transmission (neurons communicating to each other)
Unless you’re an athlete who performs in hot, humid weather, you are most likely not in danger of being deficient in sodium. To give you an idea of the amount of excess sodium Americans consume I’ll provide you with these numbers:
The Daily Recommended Intake (DRI):
- 1500mg for active adults
- 1300mg for 51-70 year olds
- 1200mg for the elderly
The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is 2300mg; this means consuming sodium at or below 2300mg is most likely to not cause adverse affects in most healthy individuals. However, consuming sodium in excess of 2300mg/day is likely to cause adverse health affects like hypertension and other cardiovascular or health complications. The average American consumes ~3400mg of sodium/day, exceeding the UL by far.
So what can you do to reduce your sodium intake?
- Eat whole foods (like shown in the photo above) and less processed foods
- Reduce consumption of processed meats (bacon, sausage, deli meats, even some frozen chicken has added sodium)
- Avoid canned foods
- When buying canned food look for “low sodium” or “no salt added” labels
- Look at the nutrition facts label and choose canned foods with lower sodium or sodium free
- Rinse legumes and canned vegetables with water if they are prepared with sodium (draining and rinsing can reduce sodium content by 41%)
- Use unsalted seasonings, broths, and stock and add your own spices, herbs, and iodized salt to control and reduce sodium
- Avoid fast-food restaurants (most foods are highly processed)
- Know terms indicating high sodium content: pickled, cured, soy sauce, broth
- Limit condiments
- Choose fruits, vegetables, unsalted nuts, and other whole foods instead of salty snacks
- IMPORTANT: iodized salt is a major source of iodine (an essential mineral *see my post on iodine)
- Instead of reducing your salt shaker use, first consider limiting your consumption of processed foods to reduce sodium
- Always use iodized salt
References
- Sizer FS, Whitney E. Nutrition concepts and controversies. 13 ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning; 2014.
- Nelms M, Sucher KP, Lacey K. Nutrition Therapy and Pahtophysiology. 3 ed. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning; 2016.
- Shadix K. Reducing sodium in canned beans — easier than 1-2-3. Today’s Dietitian. 2010 January. 12 (1):62
