Reducing Sodium Intake is a Good Idea for Everyone!

Eating less sodium is a good idea for everyone! It is especially important for people who have high blood pressure. One way to have your employees get an idea of how much sodium they are taking in is to make a list and have them check off the things they do most of the time:

Example:

1. I avoid adding salt to my food.
2. I use herbs and spices to flavor
   food instead of salt.
3. I read food labels for
   sodium content.
4. I limit how often I eat processed
   foods (frozen dinners, canned
   soups, lunch meats) to twice a
   week or less.
5. I almost never eat “fast foods”
   like pizza, burgers, hot dogs,
   fish and chips, etc.
6. I rarely use salty extras like
   mustard, soy sauce, barbecue
   sauce, olives, or pickles.
   
   How many items did you choose?
   
   All 6: Great! Your sodium intake is probably quite low.
   4-5: Not bad, but still too high.
   Fewer than 3: You may not be taking the best care of yourself! Read on!
   
   Here are some healthier goals:
   Aim for LESS than 2000 mg of sodium per day (1 tsp). It is very difficult to measure exactly how much sodium you eat therefore, you should learn which foods contain sodium and how to eat less of these item. Here are some ideas:
   
   Many foods contain sodium including basic foods such as bread, margarine and milk. You probably eat 500-1000 mg of sodium per day just from basic foods and that is okay however, it does not leave much room for other foods with high sodium content. Foods that come in jars, cans and packages often contain high salt contents. So does most restaurant food. There are several tricks that will help you reduce the amount of salt you eat. Put something else in the salt shaker, such as pepper or another seasoning. Cook with herbs and spices instead of salt. If you're not sure how to cook with different seasonings try Mrs. Dash or Parsley Patch sold in grocery stores next to the other seasonings.The best idea is to eat more FRESH foods, fruits, vegetables, meat, chicken, beans, legumes and fishThink Fresh, Fresh and Fresher! For more information go to: http://www.lowsaltfoods.com/