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Sodium
Add Flavor to Your Food Without the Sodium
By the end of this lesson you will:
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Identify sodium on the food label. |
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List low sodium foods from each of the food groups. |
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Name at least one thing that you could do to decrease your sodium or salt intake. |
Please do not use ENTER to move through the fields, use the TAB key.
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Activity 1:
Do you salt your food before even tasting it?
Yes
No
What is Sodium?
Sodium is a mineral that occurs naturally in food. Some of the most basic work your body does depends on sodium such as maintaining proper fluid balance, regulating your blood pressure, transmitting nerve impulses, and helping your muscles relax, including heart muscle.
Table salt is made up of two compounds: sodium and chloride. Most of the sodium in your diet comes from processed foods. The remaining comes from salt added at the table, and salt added while cooking.
Sodium and Your Kidneys
Your kidneys regulate the sodium level in your body. In healthy people, sodium levels don't get too concentrated -- even when you consume more than you need. And excess amounts don't get stored.
Instead your body rids itself of the extra. Excess sodium passes out through urine and to a much lesser extend, through perspiration. If, for example, you eat foods high in sodium, you may urinate more to get rid of the extra. Then you probably feel thirsty because you lost fluids, too.
Can a lot of Salt lead to High Blood Pressure?
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High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease. And it affects one in five Americans older than 25 years of age. High blood pressure risk is determined by various factors: family history of high blood pressure, overweight, physical inactivity, alcohol intake, and smoking. |
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Why is there so much attention on sodium? Most people aren't affected by excess dietary sodium. Their bodies just get rid of the extra. However, up to 30% of America's population is considered to have blood pressure that is sodium-sensitive. For these individuals, too much sodium in their diet contributes to high blood pressure. Likewise, if your blood pressure is sodium-sensitive, reducing sodium intake may help to lower blood pressure if it's high. There's no way yet to predict who may have blood pressure that is sodium-sensitive, however. Two possible factors are family history and aging. |
How Much Sodium is Needed?
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To keep the body running normally, the maximum amount estimated as "safe and adequate" for healthy people is 500 milligrams of sodium a day. That's about the same amount in 1/4 teaspoon of salt. |
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Few Americans need to be concerned about getting enough. Instead, on average, most adults consume significantly more: 4,000-5,000 milligrams of sodium daily, or about 4 to 6 grams (1,000 milligrams = 1 gram). There's no known advantage to consuming this much sodium. |
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You probably do not need extra salt even after strenuous physical activity. Although you lose sodium and some other minerals electrolytes, through sweat, the amount is usually quite small. |
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Meals and snacks eaten after exertion normally replenish these lost minerals. You probably don't need to salt your food, take a salt tablet, or drink a sports drink with electrolytes. |
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There's no Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for sodium. However, 2,400 milligrams of sodium or less per day for healthy adults has been advised - and that's the amount that's used for figuring the % Daily Value for the Nutrition Facts panel of food labels. |
How can you identify Sodium on a Food Label?
You will need to practice reading food labels to determine how much sodium is in a certain food. Let's practice reading the food label! Answer the following questions.
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First, it is important to look at the serving size. You may be getting more sodium if you are increasing the servings without even thinking about it!
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Activity: Give it a shake!
How much salt do you typically add to food? Take the "shaker test" to find out.
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Cover a plate or bowl with foil or plastic wrap. Now pretend your dinner is on the plate - or that the bowl is filled with popcorn. Salt your "food" just as you would if the bowl or plate was full of food. Now measure how much salt you added. If you shook as much as 1/4 teaspoon of salt, you added almost 600 mg of sodium to your meal or popcorn! |
Activity 2:
Moderation
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Moderation, along with variety and balance: These three qualities mark an overall healthful eating style that's good for your heart and helps control your blood pressure. |
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As part of the moderation message, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans advise: Choose a diet moderate in salt and sodium. For some people, eating moderated amounts of salt and sodium means cutting back. |
Note: Women who are pregnant shouldn't restrict the amount of sodium they consume in an effort to minimize water retention and swelling. Pregnancy actually increases the body's need for sodium. A normal intake provides enough for the extra need of pregnancy.
For some people, even an intake of 2,400 milligrams of sodium daily may be too much. If you have high blood pressure or some other health condition, your doctor might recommended that you reduce the amount of sodium you're consuming.
Where Do You Find the Sodium?
Processed and prepared foods are the main sources of sodium in the average American diet. Because salt and sodium-containing ingredients serve several functions in the food supply, it's not surprising that processed foods contain varying levels of sodium.
Look for sodium-containing ingredients, then check the Nutrition Facts information for the amount of sodium in one serving of the food. If the ingredients on a food label has Na, salt, soda, or sodium in its name, that's a clue for sodium. ("Remember, "Na" is the scientific symbol for sodium.)
Salt substitutes
Are salt substitutes a good way to moderate sodium in food choices? That depends.
Many salt substitutes contain potassium in place of sodium. For some people, potassium consumed in excess can be harmful. For example, people with kidney problems may not be able to ride their bodies of excess levels of potassium. If you're under medical care -especially for a kidney problem - check with your doctor before using salt substitutes.
Refining your taste buds
To enjoy what you eat is a top priority! Fortunately, foods don't need to taste bland to be healthful. And you don't need to give up your favorite high-sodium foods - just eat them in moderations. Here's how:
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Moderate your sodium intake gradually if you're accustomed to salty tastes. Because a preference for a salty taste is learned, it takes time to unlearn it - and to appreciate new flavor combinations.
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Enjoy plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Most contain only small amounts of sodium and are rich in potassium. Eat them as low-sodium snacks!
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Choose other foods within a food group that don't have as much sodium, such as fresh meats, poultry, fish, dry and fresh legumes, eggs, milk, and yogurt. Plain rice, pasta, and oatmeal don't have much sodium either. Their sodium content only goes up if high-sodium ingredients are added during their preparation.
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Season with herbs, spices, herbed vinegar, herb rubs, and fruit juices.
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Learn to prepare food with less salt or high-sodium ingredients. For example, skip the urge to add salt to cooking water for pasta, rice, cereals, and vegetables. It's an easy way to cut back on sodium. In addition, salt toughens many vegetables, especially beans, as they're cooked. The salt draws water out of the plants cells.
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Learn how to identify salt on the Food Label.
Do the terms "salt" or "sodium" appear on the front of the food label? If so, here's what the descriptions mean. For the specific sodium content in a serving, check the Nutrition Facts panel.
| Label Term |
Means |
Examples of Foods Where The Label Might Appear |
| Sodium free |
less than 5 mg per serving |
crackers |
| Very low sodium |
35 mg or less sodium per serving |
chips |
| Low sodium |
140 mg or less sodium per serving |
soup, cereal, crackers |
| Reduced or less sodium |
at least 25% less sodium as compared with traditional foods. |
soy sauce, soup, bacon, pretzels, crackers |
| Light in sodium |
50% less sodium as compared with traditional foods. Restricted to foods with more than 40 calories per serving or more than 3 grams of fat. |
crackers |
| Salt free |
less than 5 mg sodium per serving |
herb blends |
| Low sodium meal |
140 mg or less sodium per 100 grams |
frozen dinners |
| Unsalted or no added salt |
no salt added during processing; does not necessarily mean sodium free |
peanuts, butter, canned vegetables, microwave popcorn, crackers, breakfast cereal |
Take a look at the amounts of sodium in some foods!
Breads, Cereal, etc.
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Food Item
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serving size
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Sodium (mg)
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Bread
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1 slice
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110-175
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Bagel
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1/2
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190
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Flaked cereal
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2/3 - 1 cup
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170-360
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Rice and pasta
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1/2 cup
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< 10
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Vegetables
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Food Item
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serving size
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Sodium (mg)
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Fresh or frozen vegetables
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1/2 cup
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< 70
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Tomato juice (canned)
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3/4 cup
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660
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Canned vegetables
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1/2 cup
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read label!
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Meat, poultry, fish and alternates
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Food Item
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serving size
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Sodium (mg)
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Fresh Meat
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3 ounces
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< 90
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Clams (steamed)
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3 ounces
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95
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Tuna (canned)
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3 ounces
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300
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Chicken hot dog
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1
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755
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Lean ham
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3 ounces
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1,025
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Milk, cheese, and yogurt
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Food Item
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serving size
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Sodium (mg)
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Skim or 1% milk
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1 cup
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125
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Buttermilk (salt added)
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1 cup
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260
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Yogurt, lowfat, fruited
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8 ounces
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120-150
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Yogurt, lowfat, plain
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8 ounces
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160-175
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Cottage cheese, lowfat
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1/2 cup
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460
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Activity 3:
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3. Name at least one thing that you could do to decrease your sodium or salt intake.
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Click here for a website with low, or no sodium recipes!
Which WIC Office do you go to?
Where are you taking today's lesson?
Answers:
| Activity 2: |
1. Sodium and Chloride
2. True
3. False. Most people do NOT need to take sodium to replenish lost minerals. |
| Activity 3: |
1. 140 or less
2. Bread: Rice and Pasta
Vegetables: Fresh veggies
Meat: Fresh meats and Clams
Dairy: Skim Milk |
Back to WIC Lessons
Revised: 06-13-2008
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