Low Sodium Foods
A Complete Guide To Low Sodium Foods
Low sodium foods are an important part of a healthy diet. You can buy a salt-free salt substitute now, because many foods without added salt taste very bland.
Some low sodium beverages include beer, wine, coffee, milk and tea. Also included are fruit drinks, kool-aid and soda pop. Some of these beverages have as little as 1 mg per serving, and others have as much as 150 mg per serving.
Whole grain and white breads tend to be low in sodium, along with cakes, crepes, donuts and cookies. As you will notice in this list, though, many of the items are very high in sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, so simply eliminating salt from your diet will not help if you're striving to lose weight.
There are some cereals that you can eat even if you're watching your salt intake. They include granola, shredded wheat, wheat puffs and rice puffs. There are also a few types of crackers that are low in sodium, including melba toast, low-salt and graham crackers.
For treats, there are multiple low-sodium varieties to choose from, including ice cream, sherbet and unsalted nuts and popcorn. Staying in the healthy food group of fruits and vegetables will also give you tasty foods that are low sodium. Some of these are fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen varieties without salt or sauces added, and canned vegetables that are rinsed and have no added salt.
As far as foods that you can build meals around, you can feel safe in choosing unprocessed meat, fish and poultry. You can also use eggs, and tuna that is low-sodium or rinsed from the can.
When you're trying to keep your sodium intake low, you need to learn to read the labels of foods before you purchase them. The FDA has regulated food labels that are relatively easy to read, to determine the salt content of foods before you buy. It is fairly easy to scan down the label and find “sodium”, so you can determine how many milligrams of sodium a particular food contains. The labeling will also tell you what % each item has of the total recommended daily allowance for sodium, usually based on a 2000-calorie-a-day diet. If you are watching your weight, calculate your own RDA's, because not many physicians recommend 2000 calories a day if you're trying to lose weight.
The labeling on foods also lists each ingredient, in order by how much of that ingredient is found in the particular food. Generally, if sodium is one of the first three ingredients, then that food has too much sodium for a low-salt diet. By watching your salt intake, you can use low sodium foods to help you maintain a healthier lifestyle.