Salt in the Diet

Why is salt important?

Salt (sodium chloride, or NaCl), along with potassium, is very important in helping your body maintain normal cell function and a proper fluid balance. Salt allows your body to take in fresh fluids, eliminate fluid waste through your urine, and still stay in fluid balance. Fluid balance is important for many body functions, including maintaining blood pressure, avoiding dehydration, and keeping the kidneys healthy. Too little salt keeps brain, heart, and muscle cells from working properly.

Too much salt, however, can cause health problems. It can cause you to retain water, resulting in uncomfortable swelling of the hands, feet, and sometimes abdomen. Some women are more salt-sensitive before their periods. They are more likely to gain weight and have swelling and bloating from salt at this time.

A serious problem related to too much salt is high blood pressure. High blood pressure increases your risk for heart disease and strokes. Approximately one third of people with high blood pressure in the United States are especially salt sensitive. This means that if they eat too much salt, it will cause or worsen high blood pressure.

What is the recommended amount of salt?

You should have no more than 4 grams of salt (about a teaspoonful), or 2.4 grams (2,400 mg) of sodium, a day. The average adult consumes quite a bit more sodium than this (at least 4 to 7 grams of sodium daily).

How do I decrease the salt in my diet?

You can take several steps to decrease the salt in your diet:

• Stop adding salt to food at the table. One third to one half of the sodium people eat is added at the table or during cooking. Sometimes you can use other spices or salt substitutes that do not contain sodium.
• Use little or no salt during food preparation and cooking. Use other spices instead of salt.
• Read the labels on all canned, boxed, or frozen foods to see how much salt they contain. Many soups, frozen dinners, and other convenience foods contain high levels of sodium.
• Check the sodium content in snack foods, especially the ones that taste salty but even those that aren't obviously salty.
• Don't use of a lot of sauces and condiments on foods.

Examples of sodium content in common foods:

 
   Food                       Sodium Content 
   -----------------------------------------
   apple                          1+1/2 mg 
   banana                             1 mg 
   broccoli, 2/3 cup                 10 mg 
   catsup, 1 T                      200 mg 
   carrots, 2                        50 mg 
   cheddar cheese, 1/4 lb           700 mg 
   chicken, broiled, 1/4 lb          70 mg 
   chicken, Burger King Broiler     480 mg 
   dill pickle, 1 medium            900 mg 
   eggs, 2                          270 mg 
   hamburger, Burger King           570 mg 
   hamburger, Burger King Whopper   870 mg 
   margarine, 1 T                   120 mg 
   milk, 2%, 8 oz                   120 mg 
   mustard, 1 tsp                    65 mg 
   olives, green, 10                940 mg 
   salt, 1 tsp                     1938 mg 
   Worcestershire sauce, 1 T        206 mg 

Decreasing sodium is one of the easiest changes you can make in your diet. Once you start a low-sodium diet, your tongue becomes more sensitive to the salt content in foods. Eventually you will not notice the lack of salt. The change takes about 30 days for most people. Use natural spices like oregano and rosemary to add flavor, but beware of seasonings with hidden salt, such as Cajun seasoning and blackening spices.

If you are taking medicine or have any medical conditions, be sure to check with your health care provider before changing your diet.

If you would like to have a more complete list of the sodium content of common American foods, write:

Superintendent of Documents
US Government Printing Office
Washington, DC 20402

Ask for the USDA booklet titled "The Sodium Content of Your Food," Home and Garden Bulletin #233.