Heart & Sodium

Hi everyone:
Want to thank you all for your support, am so glad that I found this group. Hope everyone is having a good day.
Now my question about, low-sodium foods. I have a hard time finding anything with low sodium. I did find some soup by campbells, some broth, but that is all that i could find, Anyone else have this problem, or in your area there is a health food store. Curious what everyone else is using?

9 Comments

salt

by Shell - 2008-08-22 02:08:42

I don't even look for food with low sodium. I love salt on my food and salt almost everything.(I think I get that from my father) I know I shouldn't but I've never had a prblem with my blood pressure. It's always been low. The same with caffeine. I don't avoid it. I like my coffee in the morning, chocolate and diet soda.

processed = high sodium

by Tracey_E - 2008-08-22 03:08:20

Salt is used both for preservative and flavor in processed foods and it takes a lot to still taste if after the preserving process. Frozen meals are slightly better than canned but still not good if you need to be on a very low sodium diet. The few that are truly low sodium taste like, er, well a word we won't use here :o)

There are some lower sodium brands of canned goods- Healthy Choice and Campbell's Healthy Request come to mind- but if you read the label they aren't really low salt, they're just not obnoxiously high. Most store brands have no salt cans of veggies. I get some other brands at the health food store but they're expensive and don't taste that good. It's probably not the answer you're looking for, but I make most everything from scratch. I make large batches and freeze leftovers to make homemade tv dinners.

Shell, if you start with low or no sodium foods and add salt at the table, you can keep low sodium but still taste the salt. Salt dilutes when you cook it so you need more to taste it but the amount of salt you shake on food at the table is relatively minor. Just because your bp is low doesn't mean the salt isn't doing damage! Many diet related heart problems are asymptomatic until the damage is done. I'm a little fanatic about heart health, lol. I'm at a good weight and have low bp but I'm neurotic about my diet and exercise. I figure my heart is already screwed up enough, it would be just plain stupid to come down with a problem that could have been prevented!

Hi....

by Bionic Beat - 2008-08-22 04:08:50


There are lower salt substitutes that aren't too bad, such as HalfSalt.

I cook without salt and use a bit "to taste" only.

You can use plenty of herbs, pepper and salt substitutes to make foods taste good without the risks of salt.

Some of my favs. are Bay Leaves, Rosemary, Garlic (not garlic salt), Onions and Paprika.

Frozen veggies have less salt than tinned veggies.

We use a lot of frozen veggies in the winter, so convenient and low or no salt.

Crackers, baked goods etc have loads of salt, maybe get a Breadmaker....very easy to make your own bread and rolls.

Good luck, it's hard to change ones' lifestyle....but leave the processed stuff at the store.


Bionic Beat

Sodium products.....

by maryanne - 2008-08-22 09:08:43

You would be correct....most products are very high in sodium due the preservatives used. Personally, you might be better off making your own soups and freezing them. Once you start making your own soups you won't want to go back to store bought. I loved the suggested above using fresh herbs and spices....and now is the time of year to buy extra veggies and freeze them yourself to use at a later date in your favourite soups and recipes.

Good health to you and good for you for looking a better food choices!

I thought..

by turboz24 - 2008-08-22 10:08:27

I though most of the sodium in processed foods came from MSG or just salt to amplify the taste of the food, because MSG or salt is way cheaper than say chicken.

I prepare my food everyday. Now, I eat the same thing day in and day out, and apparently that isn't easy for most people to do, but when I make my breakfast every morning, I also make my chicken for lunch, I prepare enough wild/brown/red rice for the week and just take some of that along with a frozen veggy.

Most people at work are used to be bringing in the same thing everyday, but you know, food is food, there are plenty of things in life to derive pleasure from, it doesn't have to be food........

Salt Myth

by ElectricFrank - 2008-08-22 11:08:27

There have been several studies that show that only a small part of the population is adversely affected by sodium. I suspect there will be a genetic test to determine who is affected. In the meantime they are using the one size fits all approach that is so popular in medicine.

I live in the desert where it is necessary to drink plenty of water which depletes the salt in the body. For years we took salt tablets in the summer. Now salt is bad.

One warning though. If you really believe that salt or fat or .... is damaging your heart, then DONT EAT IT. How we feel about such things has an effect.

Enjoy life. Eating all the right things and following all those onerous instructions doesn't make us live longer..it just seems longer.

cheers,
frank

PROCESSED FOOD

by pete - 2008-08-22 12:08:50

Almost all food that has been processed has had far too much salt added. Its bad for your heart. Avoid it. I even make all my own bread to control my salt intake.
Cheers pete

Salt

by maryanne - 2008-08-23 01:08:12

In some regards I would have to agree with Frank. ...it's all about moderation. But for those who have Hypertension(HTN) salt is a no no and should be limited, along with smoking and drinking(but that is a whole other story)....I could go into the pathophysiology of salt and it's effect on the vessels but that would be to boring....just know...Life is for living and we should all try to live it the best and healthiest way we know how for ourselves

Salt and Hypertension

by ElectricFrank - 2008-08-24 12:08:29

The studies have shown that only a small percent of hypertensive patients are adversely affected by salt. The problem is that it is hard to determine which are. BP measurement is such a poor technique that the readings don't mean much. The only way to make an accurate measurement is through an arterial catheter and that isn't very comfortable way to get a quick check.Here is a clip from one of the med sites.

The bottom-line problem is that salt metabolism, and its effects on hypertension, are extremely complex. And after decades of research, over 20,000 scientific studies have been published on the relationship between salt and hypertension, with conflicting and contradictory results. Since nobody can read all these articles, let alone digest their meaning, hypertension experts are left to pick and choose which articles they think are most important – and invariably, it seems, they pick the articles that seem to bolster their pre-conceived notions. Reading the medical literature on salt has become uncomfortably like reading the Bible: no matter what odd notion you care to espouse, you’ll be able to find something in there to support it. There seems to be little hope that anything approaching an objective resolution of the salt issue will ever be reached – at least among hypertension experts

frank

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