Health conditions such as high blood pressure have been linked to the intake of too much sodium. This causes damage to your arteries and blood vessels under the chronic condition. You are also put at risk for heart failure, kidney disease, stroke, and heart disease. This is because excess sodium results in additional water being pulled into your blood vessels. Health authorities have advised people to limit their intake of sodium for these reasons.
How Much Sodium Should I Consume A Day?
The vast majority of Americans consume too much sodium in a day. 2,300 Milligrams of salt, which is the size of a teaspoon, is the recommended amount of salt you should intake, according to The American Heart Association. If you suffer from any other health conditions, your intake should be limited to 1,600 milligrams of salt per day. The amount of sodium the average person consumes every day is 3,400 milligrams per day. This is way above the recommended amount by health authorities. It was reported by the CDC that 90% of Americans consume more salt than what is recommended by The American Heart Association.
So, where do we consume all that sodium from? Don’t blame your kitchen salt shaker just yet. The majority of our sodium consumption comes from processed foods, takeouts, and restaurant meals, with the AHA reporting that these foods make up 70% of our sodium intake. Januzzi estimated the sodium intake of some of our favorite foods in 2018. A Chinese takeout meal contains as much as 7,000 mg of sodium. A large order of McDonald’s fries will increase your sodium by 350mg. Eating a footlong sandwich at Subway will add 2,480 mg of sodium to your body.
The other 30% of the sodium we intake is from food that naturally contains sodium and the salt we add to our home-cooked meals for some extra flavor. Only 15% of our sodium comes naturally from foods, and the other 11% is what we use around the house, according to the AHA.
As we mentioned above, our body needs sodium to function properly. It is a mineral that creates electrically charged ions for your body. The sodium in your body is mostly found in your blood and around the fluid in your cells. The sodium helps balance these fluids. Sodium also plays a vital role in the muscle and nerve function in your body. Your kidneys serve as sodium regulators and release your sodium through sweating and urination. It is very rare to come across a person with a sodium deficiency. Most of us find ourselves on the opposite end of the spectrum. We intake too much sodium, which results in excess water in our blood vessels.
How To Limit My Daily Sodium Intake
If you are consuming too much sodium than what is necessary for your body, there are ways that you can reduce your level of sodium intake. This is extremely important for people who suffer from heart conditions and high blood pressure.
When you are out shopping for food, you need to be aware of the sodium levels in each item you are buying. Food labels often have all the ingredients and nutritional information available for customers to read on the packaging of the products. You can then estimate how much sodium you will consume based on the amount each product you buy contains.
If you are eating out at a restaurant, there are no nutritional labels on your food. One way that you can acquire that information is by visiting the website of the restaurant you plan to go to. Chain restaurants often have the nutritional value of their meals available on their websites. Sometimes it’s the foods that we least expect that contain the highest amounts of sodium. Restaurants tend to add salt to dishes to add more flavoring to their dishes.
Certain foods are known to contain high amounts of sodium. These are the foods that you would want to avoid consuming high amounts of. If you planned on eating pizza for dinner every day this week, you might want to choose an alternative meal. A large slice of pizza from Pizza Hut contains as much as 1,180 mg of sodium. Prepackaged cold meats contain up to 1,050 mg of sodium for each serving. Bread is also another food to watch out for. A study showed that two slices of white bread contained 1,37 grams of sodium. Canned products such as soup and vegetables also contain a high amount of sodium. One cup of chicken soup contains 1,580 mg of sodium, and a half cup of canned peas contains 310mg of sodium. Being aware of these foods can help you to cut back on the amount you consume and reduce your sodium levels to an amount that is healthy for your body.
Another way to reduce your sodium intake is to go on a specified diet. The DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is designed to keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. It includes foods such as fruits and vegetables, fish, whole grains, heart-healthy fats, and poultry. Similar to the Mediterranean Diet, it provides a low-sodium eating plan. You can also increase your amount of exercise and reduce your amount of alcohol intake to reduce your sodium intake levels.
In conclusion, sodium intake is good for your body. Too much sodium, however, can be detrimental to your health. A teaspoon of salt a day should keep the doctor away.
