Shaking the salt habit
When Dr. Scott Cinnamon asks his patients if they think they eat a low-, medium- or high-sodium diet, most people tell him they think they fall somewhere in the middle.
But when he asks them what foods they eat, he often has news for them.
“A lot of people think as long as they’re not grabbing the salt shaker, they have a low-salt diet,” says Cinnamon, a Carle Clinic adult medicine physician.
If there’s one thing doctors could do to help their patients live longer, Cinnamon says, it would be persuading them to cut back on the sodium, much of which comes hidden in canned, frozen and packaged foods. A high-sodium diet contributes to high blood pressure, which in turn, is a big contributor to heart disease, kidney failure and strokes, Cinnamon says.
A study published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine projected hundreds of thousands of strokes and heart attacks could be prevented and billions of dollars in health care costs could be saved through a combined government-food industry initiative to cut as little as 9.5 percent of the sodium out of America’s diet.
How much sodium is too much? The American Heart Association advises consuming no more than 1,500 mg of sodium a day, but acknowledges that’s a difficult goal to achieve given how much salt and sodium is used in America’s food supply.
Most people actually consumer 3,436 mg of sodium a day, the heart association says. Some of it comes naturally in vegetables, dairy foods, meat and poultry, Some comes in medicines. But three-quarters of it is added by manufacturers to processed foods.
As for how much comes from the salt shaker, salt lovers beware: A single teaspoon equals 2,300 mg. of sodium.
Some tips from the American Heart Association to help you cut back:
— Choose foods without added salt.
— Limit salty snacks.
— Avoid adding salt and canned vegetables to home-made dishes.
— Look for low-sodium, fat-free or low-fat dairy products, broths and soups.
— Use pepper instead of salt, and use other spices and herbs to add flavor to your foods.
— Try using fresh lemon juice instead of salt to flavor fish and vegetables.
— In restaurants, ask for your foods to be prepared without salt.
I don't use canned vegetables, but I do use canned beans quite frequently. They're healthier than red meat and are an easy way to add protein and fiber to certain dishes. I've heard that rinsing canned beans can really cut down on the amount of sodium in them. Did Dr. Cinnamon mention anything about whether that's true?
I've read conflicting reports about how much sodium is actually removed by rinsing canned beans, because the beans absorb some of it. I also like the convenience of canned beans and the nutrition boost they provide, especially since I avoid meat on most days, so I just try to keep the amount of high-sodium processed foods I eat at a minimum.
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