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Sodium and Your Health

What is Sodium?

Sodium is a mineral that represents the major cation in the extracellular space. Sodium is responsible for keeping the blood in the bloodstream and there are sodium channels that facilitate the movement of molecules in and out of the cells. Sodium and potassium are exchanged at a cellular level to regulate the turgidity of each human cell.

Why Our Bodies Need Salt

Sodium is essential for bodily functions. We get most of our sodium from sodium chloride or table salt, most of which coming from processed foods. Sodium has three major roles in the body:

Muscle and Nerve Function

Sodium contains an electrical charge, making it an electrolyte in the body. Our bodies need electrolytes to help in muscle contraction and in the transmission of electrical impulses in the nerves. Sodium ions, along with chloride and potassium ions cause muscles to contract and nerves to fire whenever they change places across cellular membranes.

For example, nerve cells that are not firing have potassium side the cell and sodium outside of the cell. When the nerve cell fires, potassium leaves the cell at the same time sodium comes in, resulting in an electrical charge or nerve-related impulse. A similar thing happens when muscle cells are allowed to contract.

Fluid Balance

Sodium works alongside potassium to maintain the water balance inside the body. Both sodium and potassium attract themselves to water so that the bloodstream and the cells are properly hydrated. Sodium mostly works in the extracellular space, while potassium mostly works in the intracellular space. If a person takes in too much sodium, there is too much water in the bloodstream and high blood pressure results.

Maintaining Blood Volume

Sodium is the cation that is responsible in maintaining blood pressure and adequate blood volume. The body is constantly being monitored for its sodium concentration so that if either the sodium level gets too high or the blood volume gets too high, the body stimulates the kidneys to excrete both sodium and water, maintaining homeostasis in the body and keeping the blood volume normal.

How Much is Too Much Sodium?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only about 9.6% of Americans take the time to limit their sodium intake to the recommended sodium levels, which is an intake of about 1500 milligrams per day. Anything more than that is considered “too much.”

  • Only about 10% of excess salt comes from the salt shaker!
  • 77% comes from the sodium found in restaurant foods or processed foods

While all food categories will provide us with sodium, grains and meat give us the most excess sodium.

There are five foods, according to the CDC, that give us the most sodium in the diet:

  • Luncheon meats or cold cuts
  • Dishes with pasta in it
  • Pizza
  • Chicken dinners or chicken casseroles
  • Regular yeast-containing bread

Most of our sodium comes from three different food groups:

  • Meats, such as fish and poultry, add about 28% of the sodium in the daily diet.
  • Grains add about 37% of the sodium in the diet. These include frozen dinners that have a lot of grain in them, soups with grain, breads, and pizza, which is high in bread containing a lot of salt in it.
  • Vegetables add about 12% of our daily sodium intake. This is because French fries and potato chips are considered vegetables, along with vegetable soups, vegetable sauces, and canned vegetables—all of which are high in sodium chloride.

Other dietary recommendations indicate that we should take in less than 2300 milligrams of sodium per day but that fewer than 1/3 of us actually do this. About 70% of us take in too much sodium. People, who are elderly, middle-aged, or African American, should take in less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day and few follow these recommendations.

The average person in the US takes in twice the recommended daily allowances of sodium daily, instead taking in about 3.466 milligrams of sodium each day. This amount of sodium puts a person at risk of developing high blood pressure.

When we develop high blood pressure, the risk of things like stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure are higher.

If everyone in the US followed the recommended sodium guidelines, there would be 66,000 fewer strokes and 120,000 fewer heart attacks per year, according to the CDC.

In order to reduce the intake of salt, it is recommended that we eat more fresh vegetables, frozen vegetables (which generally contain no added salt), less processed foods, compare food labels, selecting the foods that are low in sodium, and use canned beans and vegetables only after rinsing the food in order to remove as much of the sodium as is possible.

Ramifications of a High Salt Diet

High salt diets cause too much water to be in the bloodstream and this can lead to fluid retention in the tissues. There can be fluid collection in the lungs or around the ankles, as well as high blood pressure from having too much fluid in the bloodstream. This high blood pressure goes on to cause things like hemorrhagic strokes, heart attacks, and kidney failure.

Salt Intake and Risk Factors for Related Conditions

When it comes to the sodium chloride, we add to our diets, there is about 1500 milligrams of sodium per 0.75 teaspoon of salt. This amounts to about 3.75 grams of salt per day. If we eat the recommended 2300 milligrams of sodium per day, this amounts to 6 grams of salt or about 1 teaspoon of salt each day. Most people are eating much more than this. You can assess the salt intake by limiting the amount of sodium you add to the food you eat from the salt shaker or in recipes.

When dealing with processed foods, you need to be careful about reading food labels. Food labels are required to say how much sodium is present in each serving of the processed food. Remember that this is a per serving listing and there may be more servings in just one container of the food.

Eating too much sodium increases the risk factors for diseases:

  • High Blood Pressure
  • Kidney Disease
  • Heart Disease
  • Stroke

All of these diseases are related to blood pressure, which goes up when sodium is high in the system because it brings water with it and the amount of fluid in the blood vessels goes up when we eat too much salt.

Tips for Lowering Salt Intake

According to the National Kidney foundation, you can reduce salt intake in these ways:

  • Don’t use packaged meat and instead use fresh cuts of any type of chicken, beef, or pork you eat. These meats contain some natural sodium in them but the amount is much less, than the amount found in the meat after it has been processed into meats such as ham and bacon. If a meat item (or any food item) says that it will keep well in the refrigerator for several weeks, this usually means that the salt intake is too great.
  • If you buy frozen vegetables, select those that are labeled “fresh frozen.” Don’t add sauces or seasoning that contains salt to these products and instead eat them as they come out of the packages.
  • Select fresh vegetables and fruits that are inherently low in salt content. Canned and frozen fruit products are also very low in salt but canned vegetables tend to be high in salt.
  • Always read food labels, as it is a requirement to have the sodium content listed on the food label. Sometimes foods that are high in sugar won’t taste very salty so you have to rely on the food label to tell you how much sodium you are getting in the product.
  • Choose seasonings or spices for your food that don’t have sodium on the label. This means choosing something like garlic powder instead of a product that says it contains garlic salt.
  • Compare food brands for similar food items until you find the product with the lowest salt content. The amount of salt in similar food items will vary, depending on the brand you choose.
  • Before going to a restaurant, look up the restaurant’s website. The website should have a listing of its menu along with the sodium content of all of the foods they serve. If you haven’t done this, you can ask the waiter to request that the cook or chef make your dish without any added salt in the recipe.
  • Be wary of products that don’t taste very salty but still list a high sodium content on the label. One of these foods is cottage cheese, which has a lot of salt in it but doesn’t taste very salty.
  • If you have high blood pressure, restricting dietary sodium content will not only reduce your blood pressure levels but it can increase your responsiveness to the medications you may have to take for your high blood pressure.
  • Remember that salt preference is an acquired taste and is one you can get out of. It takes about six to eight weeks of eating lowered amounts of salt but, if you can do it, it will make high salt foods seem to be too salty for your taste.

List of Naturally Low Salt Foods

If you want to decrease the amount of sodium in your diet, you’ll want to do your grocery shopping very carefully. You’ll want to select foods that are fresh rather than foods that are processed whenever it is possible.

Read the nutrition label on the back of the product to see how much sodium is in the product and select those foods that contain less than 5 percent of the daily value of sodium in it.

Foods that say they contain more than 20 percent of the daily value in it are too high. Stay on the lookout for foods that say they are “reduced sodium,” have “no salt added” or say “low sodium” on the label.

Take this list with you to the grocery store and pay attention to foods in the following categories:

Fruits and Vegetables

Produce is not only low in salt; it should be an essential part of a balanced healthy diet, including the following:

  • Fresh vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, or spinach that do not contain much salt.
  • Any type of fresh fruits, including bananas, oranges, or apples.
  • Any type of frozen vegetable that doesn’t come with a salty sauce.
  • Canned vegetables that say they are low in sodium or have no salt added to the product.
  • Vegetable juices that say they are low in sodium.
  • Unsweetened dry fruit or fruit that has been frozen
  • Fruit that has been canned in water or 100 percent juice but not canned in syrup.
Breads, Grains, and Cereals

Pay attention to the food labels and choose those food labels that say the sodium content is low. Don’t cook pasta or rice with any added salt. Your grocery list should include the following:

  • Unsweetened oatmeal
  • Pasta or rice
  • Unsalted popcorn (if a seasoning packet is enclosed, use only a portion of the packet so the sodium content will be lower).
Meats, Beans, or Nuts

Select fresh meats whenever you can. Some fresh meat will have added salt in it so you need to look at the label. Put these foods on your grocery list:

  • Unsalted seeds or nuts
  • Turkey breast or chicken breast that has no skin attached
  • Shellfish or fish
  • Eggs
  • Canned beans that has a “low sodium” or “no salt added” label on it
  • Dried beans or dried peas
  • Leaner cuts of pork or beef
Dairy Products

Select dairy products that are low fat or fat-free. This includes yogurt. When you buy cheese, check the label on the back as some cheeses can be very high in sodium. Milk and yogurt are good for you as they are high in potassium, which has blood pressure-lowering properties. The following should be on your grocery list:

  • Rice or almond milk that has added calcium in it
  • Low sodium or reduced sodium cheeses, such as natural Swiss cheese
  • Fat free or low fat yogurts
  • Low sodium cottage cheese
  • Low fat or fat free milk that contains 1 percent or less of fat
Dressings, Condiments, and Oils

Choose those ingredients for cooking that say they are low in sodium or have no salt in it. Your grocery list should look like this:

  • Unsalted butter.
  • Salad dressings and light mayonnaise that says that it is sodium-free
  • Vinegar, which flavors food but contains no sodium
  • Ketchup that says it is low sodium or sodium free
  • Seasonings can add flavor to food without adding any salt.

The following natural flavorings should be on your grocery list:

  • Ginger
  • Limes and lemons
  • Garlic, peppers, and onions that flavor food without added salt
  • Herbs, salt-free seasonings, and spices that don’t contain added salt

Conclusion

While sodium is essential for life, too much sodium in the diet can lead to health problems, particularly high blood pressure which, in turn, leads to strokes, heart disease, and kidney failure. The key to eating a low sodium diet is to make much of the food yourself and don’t add salt to the recipe.

Many people have an attachment to salt, but this can be overcome over a 6-8 week period of time in which your taste buds can acclimate to a lower salt diet.

There are plenty of low salt alternatives to foods that are otherwise high in salt and you should select these foods over the high salt versions.

Always read food labels, as this will tell you how much sodium is in the product. Restaurants will often have the sodium intake of their recipes listed on their website.

You can read the listing on the website or ask that the food they prepare for you have no added salt to the recipe.