Sodium and Your Health

With the release of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the new MyPlate visual, the focus on sodium intake has increased. Most people know that sodium is important to blood pressure control and that too much sodium can be a contributor to fluid retention but you may not realize that sodium also appears to be connected to cognitive function.

A recent study in the journal Neurobiology of Aging found that a lower intake of sodium can help maintain your cognitive or mental function. While this is just one study it is a good reminder that we need to be aware of how much sodium is recommended for health and how much sodium we are consuming.

The recent guidelines recommend a maximum daily intake of 2300 milligrams of sodium for children and adults until the age of 51, when the recommended maximum amount drops to 1500 milligrams a day. Those of African American descent, no matter what their age, should consume less than 1500 milligrams each day. For a point of reference, a teaspoon of salt is 2400 milligrams and the average American consumes 3700 milligrams.  

If you’re still trying to manage your sodium intake give the following tips a try.

• Add salt in cooking or at the table — not both
• Always measure the amount you add to keep portions moderate
• Taste food before adding salt
• Read labels of packaged foods and look for the words – Baking soda or powder, Sodium benzoate, caseinate or citrate, Soy sauce, Teriyaki sauce or Sodium chloride
• Check sodium content of packaged foods and purchase those with less
• When dining out limit your intake of foods in a brine, cured, corned, pickled or smoked 

When it comes to purchasing salt — iodized salt, sea salt and Kosher salt all contain the same amount of sodium by weight. Kosher and sea salts are often bigger pieces than iodized or table salt so you might find that you can use less of them but remember they still contain sodium, the mineral that needs modification.

Make this the year that you learn to use less salt by choosing other herbs and spices to season your foods, by boosting your intake of fruits and vegetables which are rich in potassium, and by limiting the number of packaged or prepared foods that you purchase.