When it comes to heart health, it’s a good idea to set the salt shaker aside and revise your recipes. The salt we use to season our food is made up of sodium chloride, a key mineral found in the body and in many foods.
The fluid, sodium, potassium and other “electrolytes” in our bodies are kept in proper balance by our kidneys. If we take in too much sodium, our blood volume increases, making our hearts work harder and increasing blood pressure. When the heart can’t keep up with the extra fluid, it pools in the extremities, causing swelling (edema). Even foods that don’t taste salty can be high in sodium.
If you have a heart, kidney or liver problem, fluid imbalances from high sodium intake can also create breathing difficulties by stressing those organs.
How low should you go?
How low your sodium intake should be depends upon your goals, says Julia R. Zumpano, RD, LD, a registered dietitian in Cleveland Clinic’s Digestive Disease Institute who works in Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation and also in the Women’s Cardiovascular Center.
For general heart health and disease prevention: Consume no more than 2,400 milligrams (2.4 grams) of sodium per day.
To control hypertension: Restrict your sodium intake to a maximum of 2,000 milligrams (2 grams) of sodium per day.
To help manage heart failure: An even greater restriction is needed: 1,500 milligrams (1.5 grams) of sodium per day.
Stashing the salt shaker is a good way to get started but check with your doctor before buying salt substitutes. They are generally potassium-based and too much potassium can be dangerous for the heart.
Meanwhile, look to your food choices to reduce salt intake: 75 percent of the sodium that Americans consume comes from processed foods. “If you eat fresh foods and use salt in moderate amounts, you’ll consume much less sodium than if you rely on processed foods, convenience foods and eating out,” says Zumpano. That means take-out, fast food, cafeteria and restaurant dining.
Tracking sodium in servings
Following American Heart Association guidelines will help you keep your sodium intake on track. “Stick to less than 140 mg sodium per serving for individual food items (condiments, bread, etc); less than 300 mg sodium per serving for foods that make up the bulk of your meal (soup, meat, etc.); and 600-800 mg sodium for an entire meal,” she says.
When cooking or baking, keep in mind that salt and baking soda contain sodium. Here’s the breakdown:
1/4 teaspoon salt = 575 mg sodium
1/2 teaspoon salt = 1,150 mg sodium
3/4 teaspoon salt = 1,725 mg sodium
1 teaspoon salt = 2,300 mg sodium
1 teaspoon baking soda = 1,000 mg sodium
In most baking recipes, you can easily reduce the salt by one-fourth to one-half without any noticeable effect in the final product.
Tips for planning low-sodium meals
Scan the “Nutrition Facts” label before you buy prepared or packaged foods for the words “soda” (referring to sodium bicarbonate or baking soda) and “sodium,” and the symbol “Na.” They tell you that the product contains sodium compounds.
Use fresh or frozen ingredients and foods marked “no salt added.”
For favorite recipes, eliminate or decrease the amount of salt; salt can be removed from any recipe except those containing yeast. Experiment with other seasonings, instead.
Avoid convenience foods such as canned soups, entrees and vegetables, pasta and rice mixes, frozen dinners, instant cereal, and puddings and gravy sauce mixes — they’re laden with salt.
If you don’t have time to cook, choose frozen entrees and single-meal boxed, canned or frozen dishes that contain no more than 600-800 mg of sodium. However, limit yourself to one such meal per day.
Use fresh, frozen or no-salt-added canned vegetables or rinse canned vegetables before you prepare them.
Choose low-sodium canned soups.
Check mixed seasonings for salt and avoid salt-spice blends such as garlic salt.
If you have high blood pressure, Zumpano says your next steps are to decrease portion sizes and be more active because weight loss will have a significant impact on heart health.
For an appointment with a primary care physician, nutritionist or other specialist at a Cleveland Clinic Family Health Center near you, call 1-888-MED-WELL (633.9355), or visit clevelandclinic.org/fhc for more information.
