Salt Intake: How Do You Compare?
The
average person consumes about 6 to 18 grams of salt daily. That's roughly
one to three teaspoonfuls. Your body actually needs only about 2300 mgms. of
salt a day and if you suffer from Meniere's disease, too much salt may cause
problems for you.
Reducing the amount of sodium you consume may help
you reduce or avoid high blood pressure.
High blood pressure,
is more likely to lead to heart disease and stroke. Cardiovascular disease
is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. High blood pressure may
also be linked to some symptoms of Meniere's disease.
The
American Heart Association recommendations healthy American adults should
reduce their sodium intake to no more than 2300 mgs per day. This is about
1-1/4 teaspoons of sodium chloride (salt). Many foods in their natural state
contain sodium, but most sodium in our diet is added to food while it's
being commercially processed or prepared at home. That's why you need to be
aware of both natural and added sodium content when you choose foods to
lower your sodium intake. When buying prepared and pre-packaged foods, read
the labels.
Watch for the words soda and sodium and the
symbol Na on labels - these words show that sodium compounds are present.
Eating
more meals away from home? Controlling your sodium intake doesn't need to
spoil the pleasure of a restaurant meal: just order selectively. Don't use
the salt shaker. Use the peppershaker or mill. Be familiar with low-sodium
foods and look for them on restaurant menus. When you order, be specific
about what you want and how you want your food prepared. Request that they
prepare your dish without salt. Add fresh lemon juice to fish and vegetables
instead of salt. Heart Smart options are available in many restaurants.
If you
have been diagnosed with any kind of heart condition, or possible even
Meniere's disease, chances are that you have been put on a low salt
diet...told to watch your salt intake and maybe even given a diuretic. This
is a drug intended to increase the excretion of urine. There is another kind
of diuretic that manipulates the excretion of salt (sodium chloride) in the
urine and to a lesser extent, that of potassium. It is not necessary to go
into great detail as to what each does. For our purposes, we need to
recognize that salt and potassium are important in the life of someone with
suspected heart conditions. It is also a recommendation in people with
Meniere's disease and other conditions. So basically you have to watch that
you are not getting too much salt, yet enough potassium. And how much is too
much or not enough...and how do you adjust your life the easiest way
possible. We'll work with potassium first, as we usually deal with it last!
Potassium!
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/potassium/
It is
an essential part of all living cells. Potassium is a mineral similar to
salt. It is essential to many biological "reactions" including the muscles
contraction, energy release, and the transmission of nerve impulses. so you
can see it's a real "essential". Potassium DEFICIENCY, like TOO MUCH
POTASSIUM, is to be avoided. If you are eating a typical diet, you will get
more than enough. The potassium CONTENT of the adult body is approximately
250 grams. A potassium intake between 1875 and 5600 milligrams per day is
generally considered adequate for adults. The average dietary intake of
potassium is between 2000-3000 mg. Potassium is readily found in many foods.
Some potassium is also added in food processing. The richest dietary sources
are unprocessed foods, especially fruits, many vegetables, and fresh meats.
As a form of medical treatment in several conditions, it is not uncommon for
physicians to recommend salt restriction and diuretics. Diuretics can
produce dramatic effects on urine output/excretion, but may also result in
salt or potassium depletion. It is important to work closely with your
doctor in monitoring the intake of potassium. Routine blood would be done to
check the levels. You want to make sure you are getting enough of it. I have
included a very shortened list of potassium-rich foods. If you are like me,
and like to nibble on something while working (and thinking), make yourself
a selection of these and keep them in the fridge. They won't go bad.
The
first group has the highest 600mg content of potassium: for:
-
5 dried peach halves
-
1 cup of lima beans
-
1 cup any type cooked
legumes
-
1 cup cooked spinach
-
1/2 cup of raisins
The
next group has 400 mgms. per
-
3 ounces of cod or
halibut
-
1/2 cup cubed of
avocados
Examples of 300 mgms of potassium-rich foods are:
-
2 ounces of mixed
nuts (and who could stop at two ounces!!!)
When
people are on diuretics, and use the kind that is not "Potassium sparing",
they may experience "potassium depletion". It occurs when the salt is
withdrawn to reduce fluid levels...usually in the lungs, but takes the
potassium along with it. This would show up as generalized weakness and a
slower than normal heart rate. And it's a bit hard to determine as someone
who has this condition would already be weak and show little interest in
their surroundings. But it is more pronounced. Also the doctor or health
team would be aware that this person is on this kind of drug...in the
hospital. At home, it's a bit more difficult to recognize. So you would
need to work closely with your pharmacist and doctor.
Salt And Its Hidden Sources.
Like
many others, you may find your doctor suggesting that you "cut out"
salt...or "don't add" any salt...or "reduce" your salt intake. And how are
you supposed to know how much is too much...How can you tell that you are
"getting" too much. Salt is naturally in many foods and used indirectly in
food preparations. It is also often used as a preservative. If you don't
read labels, you might be very surprised as to what you will
find...in your ankles or in your chest. How can you eat out without getting
into trouble...These are very real and normal challenges that you face.
Nobody wants willingly overeat anything, especially salt.
-
"Normal" salt diet
has a salt intake of 1100 - 3300 mg/day
-
"High" salt diet has
a salt intake of 4000 - 6000 mg/day
-
"Low" salt diet has a
salt intake of 400 - 1000 mg/day
Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the United States.
Reducing the amount of salt (sodium) may help you reduce or avoid the risk
of high blood pressure. High blood pressure causes increased pressure on the
walls of the arteries, and over a long period of time, it wears them out.
And people with high blood pressure are more
likely
to develop heart disease and stroke. So if you know how much you need for
healthy living, you can decide to adjust your food intake. This is your
responsibility: not your doctor's.
Here
is a bit of a shocker...The average person eats about 6 to 18 grams of salt
daily. That's roughly one to three TEASPOONFULS. Your body actually needs
only about 0.5 grams of salt each day. In the American Heart Association's
sodium recommendations, healthy adults should reduce their sodium intake to
no more than 2300 mgms per day. This is about 1-1/4 teaspoons of sodium
chloride (salt). Here are sodium equivalents in
the
diet:
-
1 Gram equals 1000
mgms.
-
1/4 teaspoon salt =
500 mgms sodium (salt)
-
1/2 teaspoon salt =
1000 mgms sodium
-
3/4 teaspoon salt =
1500 mgms sodium
-
1 teaspoon salt =
2000 mgms sodium
-
1 teaspoon baking
soda = 1000 mgms sodium
Many
foods in their natural state already contain sodium. But a lot of it is also
added to food while it's being commercially processed or prepared at home.
That's why you need to be aware of both "natural" and "added" salt content
when you are preparing your foods or buying them. When buying prepared and
pre-packaged foods, read the labels. Many different sodium "compounds" are
added to foods. These are listed on food labels.
Watch
for the words "soda" and "sodium" and the symbol "Na" on labels. These words
show that sodium compounds (salt in different forms) are present and that's
all adding to your salt intake.
I
mentioned before "If you don't read labels, you might be very surprised as
to what you will find...in your ankles or chest." You can quite easily tell
if someone has had too much salt. It stays in the body and shows up as
swelling of the hands, or legs (usually the ankles) and the lungs. Here it
could lead to breathing difficulties. Your doctor would have to prescribe
the appropriate diuretic if they suspected any lung involvement. But if
it's in your ankles, just elevating them can often correct the problem. And
your hands are the same. But try to discover what seemed to cause the
swelling and then avoid repeating the activity in the future.
How can you eat out and still stay within your
limits? Order selectively. Use pepper. Become familiar with foods low in
salt and look for them on the menu. A heart or other symbol often identifies
foods known to be low in salt or prepared for special cardiac diets.
Restaurants are now very aware and concerned about food allergies. As side
issue, many people have allergies to ingredients such as MSG. It is high in
salt as well. So if you are allergic to it, advise the manager of the
restaurant. They do not want a problem on their hands. It is perfectly
acceptable to be specific about what you want and how you want your food
prepared. Request that they prepare your dish without salt. Use fresh lemon
juice for fish and vegetables instead of salt. Here is a very practical
site for salt information.
http://oto.wustl.edu/men/sodium.htm
Altogether, become a little daring in your meals. Become creative in your
meal preparation and experiment. Use fresh herbs and spices to bring out the
natural flavors of food. Use lemon juice, wine, and fresh ground pepper to
accent natural flavors. Marinade meat in orange or pineapple juice. For
poultry, use garlic, mushrooms, cranberries, orange slices, wine, curry,
paprika, parsley, sage, and onion. For fish, use a bayleaf, marjoram, onion,
fresh mushrooms, dry mustard, green pepper, and ginger. For pork, use
applesauce, apples, garlic, onion, sage. Use seasoning "POWDERS" instead of
seasoned "SALTS". For example, use garlic powder instead of garlic salt. Do
not add salt or "condiments" (special pre-packaged sauces) to your food:
they could be very high in salt. Avoid foods prepared in a sauce unless they
prepare it especially to your requirements. Eat salad instead of soup and
have the dressing on the side. Use unsalted salad dressing or plain oil and
vinegar. "Toss" your own salad. Have fresh fruit or fruit juice as an
appetizer or dessert. A plate of assorted, cut up, fresh fruit is a lovely
"coffee meeting" snack.
If you
have Meniere's disease, you should read labels carefully. In addition to
sodium, watch out for the following ingredients that are also high in
sodium: "hydrolyzed vegetable protein, baking powder, sodium nitrate, sodium
benzoate, salt, sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), soy sauce, sodium
ascorbate, whey solids, monosodium glutamate (MSG or Accent)". These are
used in the foundations of food preparation and may not be recognized as
"salt". Salt is often used as a preservative and so it follows that
processed foods, especially canned soups and vegetables, commercially
prepared meals, processed meats and cheeses, can have lots of "hidden" salt.
Substitute fresh meats and fresh or frozen vegetables prepared without salt.
Again, read labels. I discovered that salt is often used in preparing frozen
foods. Look for prepared and convenience foods that say "low sodium" or
"salt free". Keep fresh vegetables and fruits handy for snacking instead of
salty crackers and chips. But know also that some of these will have
pesticides and preservatives... another story, but equally harmful in a
different way. Also...realize that some of the salt substitutes often
contain part sodium and part potassium. And some are totally potassium. Then
you run into the danger of overloading yourself with potassium.
Your
doctor's office should have print-outs of these kinds of additives. If you
are not sure about the actual amount of salt in a particular food product,
but would really like to try it, call the toll free number usually listed on
the package. Most companies are very willing to help you adapt your diet,
using their products. (Your doctor's office manager would probably
appreciate a copy of the research you are doing.) Another important point
to remember is that some non-prescription medications such as antacids,
alkalizers, laxatives, cough medicines, pain relievers, and sleeping pills
may also be high in sodium.
Also,
you may recall that softened water could be very high in sodium.
Let's stop here. This is a lot of technical
information to absorb. If you feel the need to do more research, type in
"sodium chloride" or "table salt" or just "salt" at
http://www.google.com
What you will find, will keep you VERY busy for a long time. So how can you
use this information sensibly, even if you are not on any diuretics or under
a doctor's care? Request the two lists (noted in this article). They are
practical
information for everyone. Read and note the foods you like. Cross out what
you really dislike. Keep the list where you would find "shopping tools",
pens, requests, and errand things. Now you have become aware of potassium in
your body.
Chances are you don't need to adjust anything. In the case of salt, consider
your intake more carefully. We all eat too much because it's used so
liberally. We have learned from years of research, that less salt is best,
and can lead us into a more desirable lifestyle.
By Karin Henderson - Nurse, Retired.
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