Thursday, June 3, 2010

Sodium Recommendations


I have had an interest in nutrition for almost as long as I can remember. My interest wasn’t always as strong as it is now but I have been fascinated by nutrition for decades. About 20 years ago I remember my internist mentioning to me that the optimal sodium intake was 2,200mg. That number stuck in my head and wouldn’t shake loose.

I was surprised last week when watching the 2009 videos of the Nutritional & Health conference one of doctors mentioned the IOM (Institute of Medicine) target of 1,500mg of sodium daily. Now I knew Doc Fuhrman recommended lower levels of sodium but I always thought the official target was still in the low 2,000’s. Of course I did a little research to find out exactly what the IOM had written. They published a paper recently on reducing sodium intake. Apparently American’s on average consume 3,400mg per day of sodium which exceeds the maximum of 2,300mg. Also the target established for most Americans is 1,500mg. Here is exactly what was written:

SODIUM AND POTASSIUM

Key Recommendations

• Consume less than 2,300 mg (approximately 1 tsp of salt) of sodium per day.

• Choose and prepare foods with little salt. At the same time, consume potassium-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

Key Recommendations for Specific Population Groups

Individuals with hypertension, blacks, and middle-aged and older adults. Aim to consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day, and meet the potassium recommendation (4,700 mg/day) with food.

For those of you that don’t know the proportion of sodium consumed in relation to potassium is important. This is why eating a lot of processed food (high in sodium and low in potassium) and little produce (low in sodium and high in potassium) isn’t a good idea.

One the things I learned in the last Cornell class in relation to sodium was when you are buying processed food the milligrams of sodium should not exceed the calories. For example if the food has 100 calories per serving than the sodium should not exceed 100 milligrams. While we don’t buy a lot of processed food this seemed like a good rule of thumb to me. I hope you find it useful when you are grocery shopping.

Additionally it is useful to keep in mind when you are adding salt to food that each teaspoon of salt contains approximately 2,300mg of sodium. Sea salt and kosher salt are a little lower in sodium at approximately 1,880mg per teaspoon.

We find that liquid aminos is where we get a lot of our sodium. Even though it is lower in sodium than low sodium soy sauce it still tends to add up. For those are you that are going to try for 1,500mg of sodium per day it isn’t easy. We make it most days now but initially food tasted very bland. I found that using a lot of herbs and peppers was very helpful in adding flavor to food that didn’t have salt.

Unrelated note:

Sorry I wasn’t around much yesterday. We had some appointments out of the house. Once those were finished Dan wanted to shop for a new TV for the family room. It was delivered this morning. My hubby loves his technology. This television seems more like a computer to me. It can be connected wirelessly to the internet and comes with 3D capability. Not that I can imagine why we need a 3D TV, but I guess this will make watching sci fi more fun for my hubby. Boys do like their toys no matter how old the boy becomes.

While we were out I ran by Marshalls just to see if I could find a couple shirts. I found 6 summer shirts which I liked and they were very reasonably priced. I picked up the cutest Ralph Lauren shirt in a nautical white with thin blue horizontal stripes marked down to $16.99 with a boat neck and gold buttons. I love, love, love a good deal. LOL! I had to pick up a pair of white pants to wear with this shirt of course.

Since it was right there we ran into Costco to replenish our supply of veggies and fruit to juice. It is amazing how quickly we go through veggies for juice. Costco had Capri yoga pants in stock so I picked up 4 more pair. Can you have too many workout clothes? I don’t think so. ;-)

By the time we got home it was late and I was exhausted. This is what happens when you “have to” wear cute sandals with an enormous heel (because I am vertically challenged after all). For dinner we had a leftover quinoa that I had stashed in the refrigerator which I stirred salsa into, wilted spinach and a veggie burger from the freezer. We also had a big glass of veggie and fruit juice. Nothing exciting to eat last night for dinner, just healthy food fast because I didn’t really feel like standing on my feet.   Gee I wonder why, LOL.

Since I was gone most of the day yesterday I have a lot to do today to get caught up on my “to do list”. One thing I need to do is spend some time in the kitchen. I feel like I need a little therapeutic cooking today. I will be back with at least one recipe if not more. Talk to you all soon.

14 comments:

  1. I actually blogged today about salt as well. You may want to read it here: http://losingweightafter45isabitch.blogspot.com/2010/06/taking-control.html

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  2. Great blog name! I will definitely check out your post today. Thanks for the heads up!

    Alicia

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  3. I totally agree with you about the workout clothes! Men are all the same aren't they? Jason is a technology junkie too.

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  4. Heather,

    Dan was like a little boy in the technology store. I watched him go from 55 years old to 15. It was actually pretty cute. He can't wait to play with his new toy. Yes, I think men are all alike in that regard. Just big kids in my opinion.

    I think I have 16 pair of workout pants now. Maybe a tad extreme but I wear them everyday so it doesn't feel that excessive to me. I guess I am as bad about this as Dan is about technology so I shouldn't complain. ;-)

    talk to you later,
    Ali

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  5. I have a hard time getting all my potassium in. I watch it, and it's hit or miss. Any suggestions??? I hardly ever add the kosher salt we have to our food, but hubby always adds some to the final product. My two boys are used to it, don't notice it at all.

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  6. DawnRose,

    Great question. I eat a lot of salad with dark green leafy veggies so that helps a lot. But foods that are high in potassium include: black strap molasses (you can add it to smoothies), potato, cantaloupe, avocado, beet greens, dried peaches, dried prunes, tomato juice, dried lima beans, soy beans, swiss chard, dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, sweet potato, banana, acorn squash, almonds, spinach, and peanuts. I hope some of those will work for your family. :-)

    Alicia

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  7. i had no idea that sea salt and aminos had so much less sodium. i didnt think it was that much of a difference.and i kinda think most people are getting even more than 3400.its hard not to when you rely on eating out and packaged food.

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  8. i can see my husband break into a cold sweat if i get to close to our flat screen.

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  9. That is quite a salt collection! I learned about potassium a few years back when I gave up most processed foods, and salt has just never had much appeal to me, so I have no problem keeping my salt intake very low. I like to taste the foods I eat, while others really struggle with missing the salt, so to them the foods taste bland.

    Sugar was the harder thing for me to give up, but I love fruit, so now anything with added sweetening tastes sickeningly sweet to me.

    It sounds like you and the hubs had fun shopping, I'm glad you had such a good day!:)

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  10. Michelle,

    According to the IOM 3,400 is the average mg of sodium consumed in America. But I agree with you I think most people get more. Check the sodium content of the packaged foods in your kitchen. I think you will be shocked.

    Ali

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  11. Janet,

    I don't ever have trouble with my potassium intake but apparently that is another problem for most Americans. Funny sweets were easy for me to give up, but salt.....less easy. ;-) Though I am used to it now. But as you can see from my collection I love the stuff in all its forms.

    Ali

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  12. Michelle,

    My hubby is pretty much in love with his new TV. I know he really wanted it. Men all love their toys I have decided. ;-)

    Ali

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  13. Congrats on finding all the cute clothes! I have a pair of yoga capris that are so pilled up it's embarrassing. Maybe I'll ask a friend to take me to Costco since I'm not a member.

    You mentioned that you juice a lot of veggies--do you use a juicer or your vitamix? If a juicer, do you save all the pulp and use it later? I've had a juicer for 10 years but it never gets used, mainly because I try to eat more of the whole foods (I hated throwing away the pulp). Okay the real reason is that I dislike cleaning it, there I said it. But maybe I should give it another try.

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  14. Laura,

    Thanks, I love a good deal. ;-) I have bought a few pair of yoga pants from Costco when they have them and have been pleased with the quality.

    I tend to use my juicer more than the Vitamix. We drink the fresh juice for the micronutrients. Also we drink the juice in addition to meals not in place of meals. Since our fiber intake is already high (approx 40g per day on average) I don't worry about the fiber loss.

    But I do use the leftover carrot and apple fiber in raw cookies. I have also used the vegetable only fiber in flax bread.

    We have a juicer that is very easy to clean. It is an Omega 8006 and is a masticating juicer. I did a review on it if you want to search the blog.

    talk to you later,
    Ali

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