Did you know that more and more people are getting high blood pressure at a younger and younger age? This condition used to hit people in their 60's and 70's but now more people are coming into doctor's offices with high blood pressure in their 40's and even younger. Doctors claim it is all due to the salt in our diet. We can see why if we look on the labels of packaged food. Look on a box of rice pilaf and you will see the sodium content is 890 milligrams per serving. We are killing ourselves with salt.
Richard Stein, M.D., director of the urban cardiology fellowship program of New York University Medical Center said," Complications from high blood pressure, such as heart attacks, heart disease, and strokes have already become more prevalent in early middle age." Experts are so concerned that the American Medical Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI ) have asked the FDA to set maximum levels of sodium in processed foods, highlight labels of food that are especially high in sodium and take away sodium's current FDA designation as” generally recognized as safe."
According to Mayo Clinic only 6% of the salt we eat is sprinkled on at the table, 5% is added while cooking - and 77% comes from processed and prepared food we buy at the supermarket. We must start reading the labels on processed foods and leave them on the shelf if they are high in sodium. Plain frozen vegetables and fruits are usually safe, as is plain pasta. One of the most surprising high sodium foods is milk. Mustard and Ketchup really piles on the salt. One frozen burrito has 600 mg of sodium. If you are ready to feed your family low salt, find below a few exchanges you can make for high sodium items.
- 1 cup of tuna salad with mayo has 824 mg sodium. You could serve, Tuna salad made with olive oil and lemon. You will cut the sodium in half.
- A frozen Burrito has 600 mg sodium. You could serve, Home made tacos; Use a single taco shell, a shake of {parmesan, add avocado and tomato slices, and go easy on the sauce. 250 mg sodium.
- Fast Food burger with ketchup, mayo and mustard more than 550 mg sodium. You could serve, Salad with grilled chicken, dressing on the side. (Chick-fil-A and Au Bon Pain have salads with 350 mg sodium or less.)
- 1/2 cup tapioca pudding has 180 mg sodium. You could serve; 1/2 cup soft served frozen yogurt, 63 mg sodium.
Remember to watch you're serving size; even low sodium can turn into high sodium if your serving is too large.
When you are cooking your fresh and frozen vegetables you can add flavor without adding salt. Many people say after a week or so their taste buds adjust and they don't miss the salt. Here are a few things you might try to add flavor.
Use your vegetable trimmings to make stock. Canned broth and bullion have high sodium content.
Use pepper, lemon, garlic, onion, wine, flavored vinegar, and herbs to add extra flavor.
When cooking pasta, try tomatoes, oregano, basil, onions, and peppers,
Stir fry with wine, flavored vinegar, apple juice, grape juice instead of soy sauce which is very high in sodium.
