Black Baby Boomer: January 2011

Baby Steps Step 1: Attack on Sodium

Posted by admin on Jan 22, 2011 in Getting Started, Nutrition | 1 comment

I’ve always been a person prone to extremes. Yet in my old age, I’m learning the value of moderation and have returned to the wisdom of making big changes with a series of baby steps instead of courageous and sometimes perilous leaps. Extreme and sudden changes in routine and challenges seem to be met by the older carbon unit with much uncomfortable protest – slower and more gradual persuasion seems far more effective and bearable.

Looking to make some small, manageable changes to your habits that yield big results? Not up for a new DIET? This new series of articles will offer some very simple methods of cleaning up your current eating and fitness habits that will bring big rewards with a minimum of pain and will power. I plan to post a new tactic each week. If you follow along, incorporating each one in your own daily habits, by the end of this series, I can almost GUARANTEE you will see significant changes in how good you feel, and you’ll see inspiring changes in how your clothes fit, as well as more appealing readings on your scales.

Baby Step 1: Attack on Sodium
Excess sodium in our diets can lead to all manner of discomforts, from increased blood pressure to aggravating symptoms of a host of other more minor discomforts, such as general water retention (which makes you LOOK and FEEL fat), meniere’s disease and other inner ear issues, fibromyalgia, PMS and menopausal symptoms, arthritis, and much more. So even if your health is not dependent upon cutting back on sodium (like those battling high blood pressure or other cardiovascular issues), it could still go a long way to increasing your overall health. And since fat cells get their unsightly bulge from being filled with excess water, it can also go a long way in getting you into some smaller sized jeans.

So just how much sodium is considered “excess?” Most Americans consume between 3100-4700 mg of sodium per day. The USDA recommended daily allowance for healthy individuals is no more than a maximum of 2300-2400 milligrams (mg) per day. This amount begins to drop as we age, and the American Heart Association’s recommendation for EVERYone is much lower – THEY suggest to aim for under 1500 mg per day, even for those whose cardiovascular health is not dependent upon it.

READ THE LABELS…on EVERYthing.
Try taking a couple of days to keep a record of the sodium content in what you eat by simply reading labels. Our biggest enemies are fast foods (and really, just about ANY foods eaten at ANY restaurant for that matter), canned foods, packaged foods and mixes, prepared foods and particularly frozen meals, entrees, many meats, and even diet entrees like Smart Ones and Lean Cuisine. The cold hard and simple truth? Convenience = high sodium content.

If you love the simplicity and lack of effort that goes into diet entrees (like I do), giving these up could be hard. I have found precious few of these that offer low sodium options. I’ve seen a couple of choices, available only online (I’ve had difficulty locating these options at the grocery store), with Amy’s frozen entrees, but only four. (Amy’s DOES however, offer a number of delicious soups and canned goods for the low sodium shopper, all readily available at most major grocery chains.) To buy Amy’s entrees online, you have to buy in bulk. Yes, this means you’ll spend more time preparing your own meals, but stick with me through this series, it’s really not as hard as it sounds. If you’re going to even come CLOSE to staying under 1500 mg (or even 2000!), give ‘em up…this is a MUST DO. The average sodium content of just one of these entrees is between 550-800 mg. Eat just 2, and you’ve already met your limit for the entire day.

Buying regular canned goods and rinsing them with water only gets rid of about 1/3 or less, of the excess sodium, so don’t waste the time. Instead, look for no sodium or low sodium varieties of canned goods. You may have to spend a little more time at the store reading labels until you figure out where your healthier options are, but it will be worth the time.

When possible, purchase fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits. Again, READ THE LABELS…the differences in sodium content between brands is astounding. Fortunately, this is one area where the budget brands are often the brands that contain the LEAST amount of sodium, so you get a healthier food for LESS money!

Same rule of thumb applies to meats. One package of ground turkey might deliver a huge punch of sodium, while another right next to it, virtually none.

I’ve yet to be able to find a sodium free bread on the bread isle. Look in the frozen foods section for Ezekiel brand, no sodium. If you stick to the bread isle, look for sodium content of 50 mg or less per serving, then stick to that ONE serving.

When preparing food at home, replace table salt with spices. Mrs Dash makes a huge selection of salt-free spices and marinades, and offers some great recipes on their website for healthy, low sodium cooking. No-Salt is a good alternative to table salt, but use this sparingly. It tastes more like real salt than any other substitute I’ve tried and doesn’t leave a weird aftertaste, BUT it delivers a huge amount of potassium. Getting your sodium and potassium out of balance can lead to some VERY SERIOUS health risks. I don’t say this to scare you away from using it, just use it sparingly, and stick to other spices and food combinations as much as possible to add flavor to your food. Also keep in mind that after a while of being OFF excess sodium in your foods, your own taste palette WILL adjust and you will learn to appreciate the more natural subtle flavors in your foods.

Look for condiments such as margarines, salad dressings, etc., with the lowest sodium content. Not many will SAY “low sodium” in the product name, so again, read your labels.

Overall, a good rule of thumb for keeping overall sodium content down is to look for products that deliver under 50 mg per serving, then be sure you stick TO just ONE serving. Before you go out somewhere to eat, check out their nutritional values online to get an idea of just how much bad stuff you’re getting when you eat out. To suggest that one never go out to eat would be ludicrous, but it is a good idea to keep such treats to a minimum…no more than one or two meals per week. Not only will your body be healthier, so will your finances.

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One Response to “Baby Steps Step 1: Attack on Sodium”

Lucia King says:

January 22, 2011 at 12:23 pm

Donna, (link at bottom) this is a good source for low sodium recipes and information. I found this when I had to start living this life (the hearing issues!) and have found some really tasty ideas. He has some books out, too.

One thing you will quickly realize in food shopping… you generally will find low sodium OR low fat, but rarely a product that can claim both! Salt/sodium is used to replace the flavor that fat provides!!

http://www.lowsodiumcooking.com/

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Great Article on Reducing Sodium

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Baby Steps Step 1: Attack on Sodium

One Response to “Baby Steps Step 1: Attack on Sodium”

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