|
Sodium, a main component of salt, is essential to your body’s functioning. It helps transmit nerve impulses, makes your muscles work and maintains the proper balance of body fluids.
For people who are sodium sensitive or have hypertension, reducing sodium intake can lead to markedly beneficial health effects. But even if you don’t have high blood pressure, limiting sodium as part of a healthy diet may decrease your risk of developing blood pressure problems and heart disease.
Your taste for salt is both acquired and reversible. As you use less salt, your preference for it will lessen. The February issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource offers ways to control sodium intake.
* Eat more fresh foods and fewer processed foods. Fresh foods are naturally low in sodium. Most sodium in the average American’s diet -- 77 percent -- comes from eating processed and prepared foods such as preserved meats, canned foods, frozen foods and commercial baked goods.
* Shop for products low in sodium. A low-sodium product contains 140 milligrams or less of sodium per serving -- 5 percent or less of the recommended daily sodium intake.
* Limit use of sodium-rich condiments. About 11 percent of the sodium in the average diet comes from adding salt or condiments -- ketchup, mustard, salad dressing, soy sauces --to foods while cooking or eating.
* Use herbs and spices for added flavor. To enhance vegetables, try parsley, basil, chives, ginger, cumin, oregano or lemon. For meats, add bay leaves, peppercorns, ginger, rosemary, sage or even cranberries.
###
Related Articles
• Blaming dietary sodium for high blood pressure is too simplistic; the real problem may be mineral deficiencies
• Surprise Ingredients in Fast Food
• Sodium Intake Far Too High for Americans (press release)
• Processed Meat Unsafe For Human Consumption; Cancer Experts Warn of Dietary Dangers
• Consumer group petitions USDA to limit sodium in meat and poultry products
 |
Additional Resources:
sodium
salt
sodium intake
|
Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com
 Email this article to a friend
 Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us
Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/020053.html
Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.
|
 |
 |
Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE
 Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
- Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
- Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
|
|
 |
 |
Recommended Special Report:
 Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta
Read this special report now...
"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com
|
More on NaturalNews.com:
• Streaming Health Ranger Videos
• CounterThink Cartoons
• FREE Special Reports
• Podcasts
|
 |
|
Printable Version
