| Easy ways to control your Sodium and help control your blood pressure |
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| Your daily Sodium limit is 2,500 mg | Your goal blood pressure is 130/80 mmHg |
| Keeping your diet low in sodium can help lower your blood pressure naturally, and it can help make some blood pressure medications work better.
Salt added to food in cooking or ar the table accounts for one third of all the sodium we eat. Throwing away your salt shaker can make a big difference . |
Even if you have a "salt-tooth", you can learn to prefer low-sodium food just by eating it. Within 2 months, your tastes should adjust, and you won't miss the salt.
Low-sodium foods taste delicious! Removing salt can bring out flavors that may have been hidden by the salt - try an unsalted peanut and see for yourself. |
Experiment with delicious salt-free seasonings. For example, lemon juice can be used almost anywhere you'd normally sprinkle salt. Other good substitutes include:
| pepper | ginger | thyme |
| garlic | dry mustard | oregano |
| onion | vinegar | sage |
| parsley | basil | marjoram |
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| A word of caution about using salt substitiutes. Many brands of salt substitutes contain potassium instead of sodium, and potassiuim can interact with some blood pressure medications. Consult your doctor before using potassium-containing salt substitutes. |
Foods to Enjoy!
- Foods made from scratch. "When you make it yourself, you control the amount of added salt".
- Fresh fruits and vegetables, which are naturally low in sodium.
- Foods that are labeled "low in sodium". However, read labels carefully. "Reduced sodium" means the product contains 75% less than its usual sodium levels -
but doesn't mean much if the original level was high. Lood for: "Sodium free" ( less than 5 mg per serving) , "very low sodium" ( less than 35 mg per serving), and "low sodium" (less than 140 mg per serving).
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Foods to Limit or Avoid
- Canned, preserved or other processed foods, which often contain salt. In fact, one third of the sodium we eat is added during processing.
- Some "diet" foods. Read labels carefully; many diet foods contain added salt to boost flavor.
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| Sodium Content of Foods We Frequently Eat |
| Breakfast Foods | Sodium(mg) | | | Sodium(mg) |
| Fried Egg, 1 large | 162 | | Doughnut, plain | 139 |
Two-egg omelet, ham/cheese | 598 | | French toast(2) | 514 | Bacon, pork(2 strips) | 202 | | Pancakes(2) | 320 | Link sausages,(2) | 336 | | Corn muffin | 192 | Cornflakes 1 cup with milk | 361 | | Bran muffin | 168 | Oatmeal, cooked | 1 | | Fruit yogurt, 1 cup | 133 | Bagel with cream cheese | 283 | | Grapefruit half | 0 | Toast, wheat | 153 | | Orange juice, 1 cup | 2 | Hash browns( 1 cup) | 54 | | Tomato juice, 1 cup | 882 | Coffee cake, 1 piece | 310 | | Coffee, brrewed, 1 cup | 8 | Danish pastry, plain | 249 | | Tea, brewed, 1 cup | 8 |
| Sodium Content of Foods We Frequently Eat |
| Lunch Foods | Sodium(mg) | | | Sodium(mg) |
| Ham and Cheese Sandwich | 772 | | Chicken Noodle Soup, 1 cup | 36 |
Roast Beef Sandwhich | 792 | | Vegetable Beef Soup, 1 cup | 957 | Tuna Salad | 434 | | Vegetable Soup, 1 cup | 38 | Cottage Cheese, 1 cup | 918 | | Tomato, whole | 10 | Fruit Salad, 1 cup | 9 | | Dill Pickle, medium | 928 | Chef Salad, Ham/Cheese | 1134 | | Potato chips (14) | 131 | Green Tossed Salad | 53 | | Corn chips (1 oz) | 164 | Hamburger, fast food | 500 | | Coleslaw, 1/2 cup | 16 | Cheeseburger, fast food | 750 | | Potato salad ( 1 cup) | 1323 | Cheese pizza, 1 slice | 261 | | French fries (20 unsalted) | 30 | Hot dog on bun | 671 | | Cola, 12 oz | 12 | Chicken noodle soup, cup | 1107 | | Diet Cola, 12 oz | 24 |
| Sodium Content of Foods We Frequently Eat |
| Dinner Foods | Sodium(mg) | | | Sodium(mg) |
| Roast Turkey Breast, no skin, 1 cup | 89 | | Beef or Pork Chop Suey, 1 cup | 1052 |
Broiled Sirloin Steak, 4 oz | 74 | | Macaroni and Cheeze, 1 cup | 1089 | Fried Chicken Breast | 385 | | Rice, cooked | 4 | Roast Chicken Breast | 138 | | Potato, boiled | 7 | Broiled codfish, 1 fillet | 141 | | Dinner roll | 144 | Broiled Pork Chop | 49 | | Broccoli, raw or steamed | 16 | Spaghetti and tomato/meat sauce | 1009 | | Peas and carrots, frozen | 110 | Fettuccine Alfredo | 1195 | | Green beans, frozen | 17 | Chili con carne, 1 cup | 1354 | | Red wine, 4 oz | 76 | Beef burrito, fast food | 746 | | White wine, 4 oz | 72 | Chicken chow mein, 1 cup | 717 | | Beer, 12 oz | 24 | | | | Light beer, 12 oz | 12 |
| Sodium Content of Foods We Frequently Eat |
| Desserts | Sodium(mg) | | | Sodium(mg) |
| Brownie with nuts | 50 | | Orange sherbet, 1/2 cup | 44 |
Angel food cake | 142 | | Hot Fudge Sundae, 2 scoops | 190 | Cheesecake, 1 slice | 189 | | Apple pie, 1 slice | 207 | Devils food cake with icing | 180 | | Lemon meringue pie | 223 | Yellow cake with icing | 191 | | Chocolate pudding, 1 cup | 335 | Pound cake, 1 slice | 58 | | Rice pudding with raisins | 188 | Chocolate chip cookie (2) | 76 | | Fresh strawberries, 1 cup | 2 | Oatmeal raisin cookie (2) | 74 | | Fresh pineapple, 1 cup | 1 | Vanilla ice cream, 1 cup | 58 | | Banana | 1 |
| Sodium Content of Foods We Frequently Eat |
| Condiments | Sodium(mg) | | | Sodium(mg) |
| Mustard, 1 tbsp | 195 | | Mushroom gravy, 1/4 cup | 36 |
Catsup, 1 tbsp | 156 | | Hollandaise sauce, 1/4 cup | 284 | Mayonnaise, 1 tbsp | 104 | | Barbecue sauce, 1/4 cup | 508 | Italian dressing | 116 | | Pancake syrup, 2 tbsp | 70 | Thousand island dressing, 1 tbsp | 109 | | Parmesan cheese, 1 tbsp | 116 | Thousand island dressing, low cal, 1 tbsp | 153 | | Soy sauce, 1 tbsp | 1029 | White sauce, 1/4 cup | 199 | | Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp | 147 | Brown gravy, 1/4 cup | 31 | | Butter, regular, 1 pat | 41 | Butter, unsalted, 1 pat | 1 | | Margarine, 1 pat | 47 | Cream cheese, 1 tbsp | 85 | | | |