How to Protect your Heart and Kidneys by Lowering your Sodium

Learn how to lower your sodium intake to protect your heart and kidneys.

People tell me they watch their sodium intake but I have found they don’t really know what that means. Sodium numbers are on food labels but what’s a good number? Some health-conscious people cut out healthy foods because the number sounds high.

Would you eat something that has 270 mg of sodium? How about 480 mg? Do you eat out? Have you ever gone online to see the sodium contents of your meal at a chain restaurant? Today I want to help make decreasing your sodium easier.
​
First, the reason: The vast majority of Americans consume more than 3,400 mg of sodium a day according to the Center for Disease Control. That’s too much. The Dietary Guidelines for most Americans recommend only 2,300 mg a day.

Too much sodium causes your body to hold onto extra water. This extra water will raise your blood pressure and force your heart, kidneys and liver to work harder. This can cause damage to those organs. Less sodium intake will help protect your internal organs…especially your kidneys and your heart.

Next, the amount recommended: Unless told otherwise by your healthcare provider, you should aim for about 2,300 mg of sodium per day.

To keep the calculations simple let’s divide this by three meals and allow for some wiggle room. Try aiming for 600 mg per meal. Then, even if you have a couple of snacks of 200 mg each you will stay within the guidelines. Think about it this way, you could have higher servings containing say, 270 mg or 480 mg, if you balanced it out with low sodium foods like fresh fruits and vegetables.

Looking at a can of soup you might notice one serving of soup (usually a half a can) may be 900 mg which would not fit very well. You would be at 1800 mg if you ate the whole can (which is easy to do). It would be better to make your own soup and use seasonings other than salt.

Here’s How- 

Tips for Lowering Sodium when Eating Out​​

• Look at sodium content of chain restaurants before going. Simply Google the name of the chain+nutrition (eg. Outbacknutrition) to get a PDF nutrition information in a chart. It’s easy to see the how much is in each item. Be sure to compare salad dressings and condiments. A bowl of  baked potato soup in a restaurant can easily exceed 2,000 mg of sodium in restaurants.
• Limit how often you go to restaurants.
• Consider sharing an entrée (most portions in restaurants are too large anyway).
• Ask your server to have the cook hold the salt.
• Request sauces and condiments on the side (and use only in small amounts).
  ​

Tips for Lowering Sodium at Home

• ​Eat more fresh foods
  • Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables (without added sauces) are low in sodium.
  • Fresh meats contain much less sodium than processed meats such as bacon, sausage and hotdogs.
    ​
• Cut back on adding salt in cooking and at the table. Salt is sodium chloride.
• ​Add flavors to your food without adding sodium:

Try lemon juice, lime juice or vinegar.
Add dry or fresh herbs to add flavor.
Buy a sodium free seasoning blend or make your own at home.
​

Here’s a recipe you can make at home.

It’s from 30-Minute Heart Healthy Cookbook by Cheryl Strachan, RD. Dried herbs and ground spices lose their flavor after a couple of years so be sure to use ingredients that are not past their prime. Feel free to add or subtract ingredients to taste. Chipotle powder is made of crushed and smoked jalapeno peppers so I have to cut that one back. After mixing up one that you like you can use it on a variety of foods.

SALT-FREE SOUTHWEST SEASONING MIX

Makes 1/4c (1 teaspoon per serving)

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon chipotle powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

​

1. Mix all the spices together in a small bowl.

2. Store in an airtight container.

 

The 30 Minute Heart Healthy Cookbook, by Cheryl Strachan RN, published by Rockridge Press. Copyright © 2019 by Callisto Media. All rights reserved.

Read this article  The Low Down on Sodium ​in Your Diet to learn more about reducing your risk heart and kidney disease.

Have you downloaded my FREE GUIDE How to Eat When you Have Diabetes…and still enjoy your favorite foods?