Sodium

     Even if your cardiologist has not yet put you on a low sodium diet, you mostly likely are guilty of including far too much salt (sodium) in what you eat.   The FDA recommends that healthy individuals consume only 2300mg of sodium daily.  The average person who is not actively trying to cut down on salt can easily consume 5000-7000mg daily.  One teaspoon of salt is approximately 2300mg.  Most of us can get away with excess salt consumption early in life, but even if you have no symptoms of water retention or congestive heart failure, you are putting an extra load on your heart and kidneys by eating large amounts of salt in your diet.  Salt causes the body to retain water.  The heart must work harder to push this extra fluid around the body.  The kidneys also must ramp up their work by secreting hormones that rid the body of the excess sodium.   As we age, the organs are less able to continue this pace and eventually lose their race to keep up with the work load salt creates.  Fluid backs up in the lungs and collects in the legs and feet.  Problems controlling blood pressure develop.  High blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.  For those individuals with congestive heart failure, overdoing it with salt even for a short time can send you to the ER. 
     If you are overweight, sedentary, over 50 or have a family predisposition to high blood pressure, you may be particularly vulnerable to the havoc created by a high sodium diet.  The good news is that with exercise, weight loss and a managed low-sodium menu, patients can often improve their condition enough to get off of prescribed blood pressure medications.  Individuals who continue to eat lots of salty foods are actually defeating and working against what their blood pressure medicines are designed to accomplish. 

     The average person is unaware of the many foods which contain significant salt.  Some of the more common foods containing salt include:

Milk
Icecream

Cheese, including cottage cheese

Cereal, including instant oatmeal
Peanut butter

Bread

Soda pop

Frozen dinners
Canned vegetables

Processed meats like bacon, sausage, pepperoni, hot dogs and bologna

Pizza

Creamy salad dressings

Ketchup

Soy sauce

Barbecue sauce

Crackers

Chips, pretzels, salted popcorn

French Fries

Canned soups

Gravy

Noodles cooked in salted water

Sea salt and Lite Salt contain a little less sodium, but are still big offenders

                If you have just found new resolve to cut your sodium intake or have recently been put on a low-sodium diet by your doctor, it’s a good idea to begin with a self-assessment.  Take a day when you have nothing to do except be compulsive about reading every label of every food item you eat.  Keep a running tally of milligrams (mg) of sodium consumed for one day.  Be careful to see if the amount you ate of any given food was “one serving” according to the label.  If it was twice the serving size, then double the amount of milligrams of sodium that are added to the tally.  Once you see how much sodium you’ve consumed during an average day, you’ll have a lot better idea of how much adjustment needs to be made in your diet.  Work with your doctor if you are already on medications (they need to monitor your dose if you suddenly start eating differently).  Then start making changes in some of the bigger offending items which contain the most amount of salt.  Find creative recipes that are low in sodium.  Shop more carefully and buy “no salt added” or “reduced sodium” food items.  A good website for low-sodium recipes is www.lowsodiumcooking.com .  You will be surprised how much salt you can cut out of your diet without undue suffering.  Good luck!