Less Salt Intake

Choose and Prepare Foods with Less Salt

You may or may not be instructed to reduce your overall salt intake in your diet, but it is a good idea for all people to limit salt (or sodium) intake. Too much salt in the diet, is linked with high blood pressure. Many foods add salt to the diet, including processed foods, soups, luncheon meats, snack foods, and beverages.

Sodium is important to the body in regulating fluids and blood pressure. Too much sodium in the diet can also cause a person to retain fluids and as a result increase the numbers on the scale due to an increase in water weight.

Since there are not indicators for who will develop high blood pressure from consuming excess salt, recommendations for daily sodium intake should be no more than 2,400 milligrams per day. This is about the amount of salt found in one teaspoon.

Salt, or sodium chloride, is the primary source of sodium found in foods. There is little naturally occurring salt in the foods we eat. Most salt is added during processing or through use of the saltshaker during food preparation or at the table. Your best attempt in reducing sodium intake is to do away with the extra use of salt at home and away.

Salt can easily be controlled in the foods we eat. Review these tips on reducing your overall intake: