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The first recommendation for patients with high blood pressure is reduce salt intakeThe norm is 1,5-2,3 g of sodium per day for healthy middle-aged people and no more than 1,5 g for those over 50 years old, with arterial hypertension, diabetes, chronic heart or kidney failure (a rare exception is the so-called “salt-losing kidney” in chronic tubulointerstitial kidney disease). Limiting salt can reduce the risk of developing and progressing these diseases., including myocardial infarction and stroke.
How to use such a standard?
There are several life hacks about foodwhich should be avoided.
- Frozen ready meals: For example, a 150-gram serving of turkey with gravy contains 1,3 g of sodium.
- Ready-to-eat dry cereals: Some have more than 200 mg per cup.
- Vegetable juices: for example, 1 cup of such a smoothie can contain 600+ mg!
- canned vegetables: corn, beans, peas and others.
- Prepared meat delicacies: for example, prosciutto, salami. With two slices we can get 360+ mg of sodium.
- Soups, pasta, instant rice with portioned sauces.
- Marinades and some sauces: For example, one tablespoon of teriyaki sauce can contain 880 mg of sodium, and soy sauce - 1 g. Even your favorite ketchup - 150 mg! The record holder is spaghetti sauce, half a cup of which can have 600 mg!
- Packaged salted peanuts: 30 g – 115 mg sodium.
- Potato chips: 136 mg per ounce.
A little more “life wisdom”:
- Among restaurant dishes, sources of significant amounts of hidden salt can be: soups, appetizers with cheese and meat, casserolesIt is better to order dishes with fresh fish, steamed vegetables, and ask to serve the salad dressing separately. Among desserts, the best choices are fruit, ice cream, and sorbet;
- contains a lot of salt fast foodTherefore, if you have to eat it, you should minimize foods with a high sodium content in your diet for the rest of the day;
- Don’t be lazy and study the information about the salt content on the product packaging. The designation “sodium-free” means less than 5 mg per serving, “very low sodium” means <35 mg per serving, “low sodium” means <140 mg, and “reduced sodium” means 25% less than usual;
- When studying the label, do not limit yourself to searching for the word “salt.” Salt is also “sodium chloride,” along with “alginate,” “ascorbate,” “bicarbonate,” i.e., baking soda, “benzoate,” “citrate,” “hydroxide,” “sulfite,” etc.;
- It is advisable to pay attention to whether the indicated salt content is calculated for the entire product package or only for one serving;
- It might be helpful to check your home medicine cabinet. Some popular heartburn and headache remedies contain sodium carbonate or bicarbonate;
- when using pickled vegetables, they should be rinsed with water before consumption;
- among sauces, you should prefer lemon juice or balsamic vinegar;
- To make food taste better, it is advisable to replace salt with spices, such as pepper.
