Posted by Tula Karras on Wed, Jun 02, 2010
We've been hearing that salt is a bad guy in our diets for decades—it's even one of Bob's four "Foods to Watch out for." The white stuff has been linked to high blood pressure, stroke and cardiovascular disease. In fact, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports that 100,000 lives could be saved by simply reducing our sodium intake. The IOM is so concerned, that a month ago they petitioned the FDA to impose limits on how much salt food companies and restaurants could add to their products (experts say most salt comes from food eaten outside the home and in processed foods, not from the salt shakers on our table—though my own experiment, below, didn't exactly bear that out).
So how much is too much? According to the IOM, most of us should cap our intake at 2,300 mg a day (about 1 teaspoon), the amount that The Best Life Diet recommends as well. But the average person consumes 3,400 mg to 4,000 mg!
To check my own consumption, I tracked my intake for two days: On Day 1, I ate mostly home-cooked meals; on Day 2, I ate out or cooked using mostly processed products. Read on to see what I learned.
DAY 1
Breakfast
1 cup cooked steel-cut oatmeal (266 calories, 2 mg sodium), pinch of salt (150 mg sodium), ¼ cup blueberries (21 calories, 1 mg sodium) and 2 cups coffee (4 calories, 10 mg sodium), each with ¼ cup one-percent milk (55 calories, 63 mg sodium)
Calories: 346
Sodium: 226 mg
Lunch
Gazpacho: 3 small tomatoes (33 calories, 9 mg sodium), 1 cucumber (24 calories, 4 mg sodium), ½ bell pepper (12 calories, 2 mg sodium), ¼ red onion (7 calories, 1 mg sodium), 1 tablespoon olive oil (119 calories, 0 mg sodium), 1/4 teaspoon salt (581 mg) and 1 slice Rudi's Organic Bakery bread (90 calories, 180 mg sodium) with 1 ounce Parmesan (111 calories, 454 mg sodium) and 1 cup store-bought lemonade (120 calories, 0 mg sodium)
Calories: 516
Sodium: 1,231 mg
Snack
¼ cup salted pumpkin seeds (169 calories, 232 mg sodium) and 1 peach (58 calories, 0 mg sodium)
Calories: 227
Sodium: 232 mg
Dinner
4 spears grilled asparagus (12 calories, 0 mg sodium), ½ zucchini (33 calories, 16 mg sodium), ¼ onion (7 calories, 1 mg sodium) cooked in 1 teaspoon olive oil (40 calories, 0 mg sodium) and 1/2 teaspoon salt (1162 mg sodium) with 6 ounces grilled chicken (284 calories, 192 mg sodium) marinated in 1 tablespoon mustard (32 calories, 57 mg sodium), juice of ½ lemon (8 calories, 0 mg sodium), 1 teaspoon olive oil (40 calories, 0 mg sodium), 1/4 teaspoon salt (581 mg) and 5 ounces white wine (119 calories, 0 mg sodium)
Calories: 575
Sodium: 2,009 mg
Dessert
1 ounce dark chocolate (168 calories, 0 mg sodium)
Calories: 168
Sodium: 0 mg
TOTAL CALORIES: 1,832
TOTAL SODIUM: 3,698 mg
DAY 2
Breakfast
2/3 cup Nature's Path Organic Whole O's cereal (110 calories, 115 mg sodium) with ½ cup soymilk (50 calories, 68 mg sodium) and 1 slice Rudi's Organic Bakery toast (90 calories, 180 mg sodium) with ½ teaspoon butter (34 calories, 27 mg sodium) and 2 cups coffee (4 calories, 10 mg sodium), each with 1/4 cup one-percent milk (55 calories, 63 mg sodium)
Calories: 343
Sodium: 463 mg
Lunch
Pret a Manger Avocado and Herb Wrap (461 calories, 627 mg sodium) with 1 Coke (140 calories, 45 mg sodium)
Calories: 601
Sodium: 672 mg
Snack
¼ cup salted pistachios (174 calories, 125 mg sodium)
Calories: 174
Sodium: 125 mg
Dinner
Amy's frozen individual cheese pizza (420 calories, 720 mg sodium) served with a salad made with 1 cup lettuce (4 calories, 7 mg sodium), 1 sliced tomato (11 calories, 3 mg sodium), 5 olives (35 calories, 375 mg), 1 teaspoon olive oil (40 calories, 0 mg sodium), 1 teaspoon vinegar (1 calorie, 0 mg sodium), and a pinch of salt (155 mg sodium)
Calories: 511
Sodium: 1,260 mg
Dessert
1 mini original Pinkberry frozen yogurt with chocolate chips (190 calories, 50 mg sodium)
Calories: 190
Sodium: 50 mg
TOTAL CALORIES: 1,819
TOTAL SODIUM: 2,570 mg
The results: I'm getting way too much sodium—regardless of whether I cook at home or rely on take-out or packaged foods! The most sobering discovery is that I'm a bigger offender than the food companies when it comes to salting up my food. I had NO idea that a measly ½ teaspoon of table salt contains 1,162 mg of sodium—that's nearly 2/3 of my day's limit!
The good news is that some of my favorite foods are low in sodium—my breakfast cereal, one-percent milk, Pinkberry (yay!), chicken and many of Pret a Manger's sandwiches (though not the one I ate on Day 2). Plus, I have control in my kitchen, and can opt for low-sodium, reduced-sodium or no-salt-added versions of popular food items whenever possible. (Tip: Unsure whether a product has too much sodium? A good rule is to ditch it if it has more sodium per serving than it does calories.)
And cutting back on salt doesn't mean cutting back on taste. For instance, vinegar is a great way to enhance the flavor of any dish, from salad dressings to sauces. And the addition of fresh and dried herbs allow you to dial down the sodium. Another tip from The Best Life's own Sidra Foreman: Don't add salt while cooking. Instead, do it right before you eat—the salt will taste more intense and you'll need less. Finally, if I lower my salt intake gradually, I won't even notice the difference! Research shows that when participants lowered their salt intake by 25 percent, bit by bit over a six-week period, they didn't notice when a product had less sodium in it.
Let me know if you have any tips for dialing down the sodium in your diet without losing the flavor!