Health-Tips-Eating Healthy: Knowing The Quantity Of Salt(Sodium Chloride) You Need In Your Body

Knowing How Much Sodium Chloride You Need

Unknowingly to most people, they eat too much sodium. The average Nigerian eats about 4,200 mg of sodium a day, while the average American eats 3,400 mg  a day.`

•  For optimal heart-health, you should aim to eat no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day. This level of sodium consumption is associated with a significant reduction in blood pressure, which in turn reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke.
•   Because the average Nigerian's  takes in excessive sodium, even cutting back to no more than 2,400 milligrams a day will also improve blood pressure and heart health.
•   In most cases,Your doctor may tell you to stop adding salt to your diet,meals or food completely.

 
now that we have identify the quantity of sodium needed in the body, lets see the common sources of sodium in our diets

The Common sources of Sodium Chloride

The simple truth is that Most of the sodium in our diets comes from adding it when our meal/ food is being prepared. So it is very good we Pay attention to food labels, because these labels tell how much sodium is in a particular food product. For example: foods with 140 mg or less sodium per serving are considered low in sodium. 
Note: Any compound that has “sodium” or “Na” in its name Some over-the-counter and prescription medicines also contain lots of sodium. It is therefore good that you Talk to your health care provider and make it a habit of reading the labels of all over-the counter drugs, too.

What foods should I limit?
 
The best way to reduce sodium is to avoid prepackaged, processed and prepared foods, which tend to be high in sodium.  Below are the top six common foods that add the most salt to your diet.  Read food labels and chose the lowest level of sodium you can find for these items:

•  Breads and rolls
•  Cold cuts and cured meats
•  Pizza  
•  Poultry
•  Soup  
•  Sandwiches

the above list is made from the observation of the salt level associated with the process of preparing these foods.

There are some other foods that can also be sources of “hidden” sodium:

•  Cheeses and buttermilk
•  Salted snacks, nuts and seeds
•  Frozen dinners and snack foods
•  Condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise)
•  Pickles and olives
•  Seasoned salts, such as onion, garlic and celery salts
•  Sauces, such as barbeque, soy, steak, and roasted meat.

The purpose of this article is to help you understand the quantity of salt you need in your system and for you to identify the sources of sodium and also the types of food with most sodium as content. In the next article we shall be talking about preparing your food with less sodium as content and also a wise way of eating out.

What do you think about this article? leave your comment below