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Sodium helps regulate the balance of fluids in your body. When water
builds up in your tissues, one of the most effective ways of getting
rid of it is to reduce the amount of salt or sodium in your diet.
Doing so can reduce the amount of fluid in tissues, which in turn
reduces the volume of blood your heart has to pump. Avoiding salt
in your diet reduces the amount of sodium chloride in your food.
If the edema is severe or if it doesn’t respond to a low-salt
diet, your doctor may recommend a low-sodium diet. A diet that is
low in salt is not necessarily also low in sodium. Research has
shown that a low-salt diet will have a greater impact on your health
if it is coupled with a diet rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium,
and phosphorous.
Your taste for salt will decrease over time. Therefore, if you
decrease your salt intake in steps, you will hardly notice its
absence. You will notice how much more flavorful your food tastes.
Here are some ways to cut back on salt:
- Most salt enters the diet with prepared and packaged foods.
Read the labels of all prepared foods and look for low-salt
versions.
- Don’t salt your food automatically.
- Don’t add salt during cooking; let your family season
to taste on their own
plates.
- Put the tip of a toothpick into two holes in your saltshaker
and break them off. Now when you use your shaker you will be
getting less salt. Each day close off two more holes.
Here are some salty foods to avoid:
- Those preserved in brine or pickled, such as olives, sauerkraut,
pickles, pickled herring and pickled eggs
- Salted condiments such as relish, catsup, soy sauce, and Worcestershire
sauce
- Prepared meat products such as hot dogs, sausage, salami,
dried beef, smoked meats, cooked chicken breasts and rolls,
cold cuts, and canned meats
- Breaded or battered foods, both fresh and frozen
- Seasonings containing salt, such as coating and baking mixes
for meat and
celery salt
- Packaged/bottled sauces such as clam sauce, red spaghetti
sauce, and curry
sauce
- Salted snack foods such as potato chips, corn chips, pretzels,
crackers,
and salted nuts
- Buttermilk
- Some instant breakfast drinks
- Most packaged and canned soups, stews, vegetables, and pasta
dinners
- Pre-seasoned frozen vegetables
Instead of seasoning your food with salt, try these substitutes:
- Fresh or frozen lemon juice: it doesn’t make food sour,
but “brightens” the taste, pepping up everything from
vegetables to chicken and fish
- Peppers: bell peppers, hot peppers, and freshly grated peppercorns
- Garlic: fresh chopped garlic, dried garlic flakes, bottled
garlic puree
- Fresh herbs: these are far superior to the store-bought variety
and can grow
in a window-sill garden
- Potassium-containing salts (not potassium chloride, which
is dangerous): available in most supermarkets, and have the
benefit of acting as a potassium supplement, which may help
you if your blood potassium levels are sometimes low
To decrease your sodium intake:
- Read the labels of all prepared foods. Most of the sodium
in your diet will come hidden in prepared foods. Many foods
now have low sodium versions. Don’t be misled by “light”
or “reduced sodium” labels. “Light” soy
sauce has over 500 mg of sodium per tablespoon!
- Check the serving size on processed foods when adding up
your sodium
intake.
- Ask your physician about the sodium content of your prescriptions.
Most medicines contain less than 5 mg of sodium per dose, but
some contain up to 120 mg per dose.
- Do not use celery flakes or parsley flakes—they are
really high in sodium.
Hidden Sources of Sodium:
- Some chewable antacid tablets
- Aspirin (50 mg/tablet)
- Celery flakes
- Parsley flakes
- Some prescription drugs (ask your pharmacist)
- Laxatives
- Mouthwashes
- Toothpastes
- Sauerkraut
- Canned tomato juice
- Canned vegetables with added salt
- Olives
- Cheese
- Milk
- Cold cuts
- Frankfurters
- Any salted crackers, chips
Sodium levels in salt. The American Heart Association
(AHA) recommends that healthy adults reduce their sodium intake
to no more than 2,400 milligrams per day. This is about 1 and
1/4 teaspoon of sodium chloride (salt).
They further recommend that if you have heart failure, you reduce
your sodium to 2000 mg. Some doctors advise PAH patients to follow
the AHA guidelines. Listings of the sodium content of various
foods and other guidelines can be found on the AHA’s website
(www.americanheart.org).
1/4 teaspoon salt = 500 mg sodium
1/2 teaspoon salt = 1,000 mg sodium
3/4 teaspoon salt = 1,500 mg sodium
1 teaspoon salt = 2,000 mg sodium
1 tsp baking soda = 1,000 mg sodium
How to interpret sodium descriptions. Prepared foods must
follow these FDA set guidelines when making claims on their labels.
The amounts given below are for one serving, so you must read
the label to determine the serving size.
- Sodium-free means less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving
- Very low-sodium means 35 milligrams or less per serving
- Low-sodium means 140 milligrams or less per serving
- Unsalted, no salt added or without added salt mean exactly
what they say: no salt is added to the food. These foods are
not necessarily low in sodium, because some sodium may naturally
be present in the ingredients.
- Healthy means less than 360 mg sodium per serving, or no
more than 480 mg per mealfor meal-type products.
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