SODIUM, THE SILENT ENEMY

High sodium can lead to high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure is one of the leading killers of our time. You might believe that you are fine because you are on blood pressure meds, but in addition to raising your blood pressure, your arteries literally stiffen after consuming only one salty meal.

Statistics show that cutting salt intake by about ½ tsp. per day, may prevent 22% of stroke deaths and 16% of fatal heart attacks.

You may be thinking I don’t salt my food and I don’t eat any processed food, so I don’t have to worry about my sodium intake. Right?

Wrong! If you are not salting your food or eating salty soup or canned vegetables then where is all this sodium coming from? Consider this, 2 TB of Hannaford brand ketchup has 160 mg. of sodium; 2 TBs of Hannaford Light Caesar dressing has 320 mg. of sodium; ½ cup of Rao’s spaghetti sauce has 310 mg. of sodium, and these are only a few of the many “salty foods” that are in refrigerators right now.

What are the alternatives to salting your food or cooking with salt? Here are a few tips:

·        Always read your labels, the lower the sodium the better

·        A simple rule of thumb is that the milligrams of sodium should not exceed the calories. For example, a 300-calorie veggie burger should have no more than 300 mg. of sodium

·        Buy no-salt added beans, diced tomatoes, chicken and vegetable broth

·        Use sodium free seasonings like Mrs. Dash

·        Make sure the frozen veggies you purchase have little or no salt, i.e., Hannaford frozen broccoli and corn

·        Avoid frozen veggies with creamy, salty sauces

·        If you want to salt foods like scrambled eggs or corn on the cob, use Morton’s light salt which has ½ the sodium

·        Look at your recipes; maybe there is added salt that you can skip.

Here are two web sites I recommend: www.hackingsalt.com, and https://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/18018/nutrient-focused-diets/low-sodium/

Do all you can to reduce your sodium intake and your arteries will thank you!