Reducing Salt

I know, salt makes things taste better, but if you are on Prednisone (as I was for 6 years) it is a huge no, no and I believe we all can benefit from a reduction in our salt intake. Reducing your salt (sodium) intake will help in reducing the silent inflammation in your body. You may have read or heard that inflammation is being linked to every major disease; heart disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes, arthritis, and asthma, just to name a few, so reducing your sodium is a no brainer.

The FDA recommends 2300 mg a day but I believe that you should keep your salt intake to around 1000 mg a day (500 mg if you are on Prednisone or suffer from heart disease) if you can answer yes to any of the following: I have elevated blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, or arthritis; I am on high doses of Prednisone or another cortisone-related medication; or I have some weight to lose.

Below is my quick list of foods to enjoy, foods to avoid. This is not a complete list but it is a good start.

Enjoy: 
Fresh fruits & veggies (see here)Yogurt Cheese
Fresh Cheeses (like Mozzarella)
Unprocessed meats (see here)Most grains (oatmeal, quinoa, kamut, wheat berries, etc)
Beans
Fresh herbs
Dried Herbs (read the label and avoid herb combinations containing sodium chloride)

Avoid:
Anything in a box
Processed Foods & Meats  (lunch meats, bacon, sausages, etc.)
Hard cheeses
Bread & baked goods (when you read the labels you will be surprised)
Soy Sauce
Read the label on any food that you purchase with a label. Salt goes by a few names. Salt (duh), sodium, MSG (monosodium glutamate), and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).

The item below contains 55 mg per serving and my guess is you might eat all 2.5 servings so this one package would count as 137.5 mg (and this is for carrots).


Here are just a few helpful links to websites and items that will help you become aware and reduce your sodium (if you look around there are many more):

My Food application for iPhone & iPad, keep track of almost everything you put in your mouth!

No Salt Lowest Sodium Cookbook - the best cookbook I have found with lots of great resources

The Complete Book of Food Counts - you should have this book even if I haven't persuaded you to reduce your sodium intake. I am looking forward to the day when this book becomes an app!