Low Sodium Diet
Salt is vital for your body. It controls your blood volume and thus your blood pressure. In fact, salt has a great influence in the control of all your body fluids.
Salt is a mineral, a crystalline mineral composed of two chemicals, sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl). So, salt is a chemical compound – sodium chloride (NaCl) that belongs to ionic salts.
Excessive Consumption of Sodium
As I mentioned above salt is vital for human body but an excessive consumption can lead to many health problems. It may seem incredible but a typical American diet contains 20 times more salt than is necessary for a healthy diet. In fact, an average American consumes at least three pounds of sodium every year. Whether you vegetarian or not, you should know that all products and processed foods contain a high amount of sodium. Therefore, it is critical to read carefully all nutritional information on the product labels to find its sodium content.
Daily Requirements of Human Body
Do not forget! Daily requirements of the human body are only six grams of salt (a teaspoon of salt). More precisely human body needs only 500 milligrams of sodium daily but can deal without problems with an amount of up to 3,000 milligrams of sodium each day. However, too much sodium can be a serious problem leading to a high pressure or swelling in legs, ankles and feet.
Foods Low in Salt and Sodium
Foods low in salt and sodium should be the most important part of your diet. And do not forget. Sodium is not in fact, exactly salt or table salt that you use for your meal. Sodium is used as preservative for preservation of many products, especially processed foods. Therefore is highly recommended a healthy diet mainly based on fresh foods, fruits and vegetables.
1| High-Quality Proteins: Proteins are essential for metabolism, maintenance and tissue repairs, helping your body to maintain all the time a healthy composition. You can find high-proteins in fish, poultry, eggs, even lean red meat. In addition, they have a low sodium content.
2| Fruits & Vegetables: Fresh vegetables and fruits should not miss in any diet. They have to be the core of a balanced and healthy diet. Fresh vegetables and fruits are highly recommended by any nutritionist because they are low in fat, calories, salt content and provide the most part of nutrients necessary for your body. On the other hand, frozen vegetables and fruits are also a good option but you should be aware of tinned products that may have a high sodium content used as preservative.
3| Dairy Products: Milk as most products derived from milk, is a staple food, because is high in calcium and proteins. However, you need to pay attention to several varieties of cheese that may have high sodium content. Check carefully the product label and do not forget that la lower sodium content does not mean low sodium content. In fact, is quite rare to find a variety of cheese with a low sodium content.
4| Complex Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are an important source of energy that stimulate your appetite and regulate insulin response. Some carbohydrates can include wholegrain cereals, wholegrain pastas, oats and rice. Sodium is entirely missing from these foods but you still should check the label for a added salt content.
Low Sodium Foods: Shopping list