First and foremost everyone needs to understand that: Too much sodium intake can potentially lead to high blood pressure. This is a fact.
After the above statement you may be thinking that sodium is salt, which is a myth. Sodium is a component of salt. Table salt is made up of 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride. When the salt enters the body, the sodium and chlorides separate which enables the body to utilize the sodium.
Majority of foods contain sodium because it is developed naturally. The key is to find the happy point between consuming too much and consuming too little. A lot of companies are trying to find natural ways to reduce the amount of sodium in the foods their producing while still ensuring that the food is safe to consume. It is said that the maximum amount of sodium consumed by the body should be no more than 2300 mg per day. According to Colorado State University the minimum amount of sodium that you should consume on a daily basis is approximately 1500 mg which is equivalent to just under 1 teaspoon of table salt. One scary fact is that one McDonald's Angus Bacon & Cheese sandwich contains 1990 mg of sodium. After consuming that, you are nearly up to your recommended limit for the day. If you would like to check out some more information on McDonald's products go here McDonald's Nutrition Facts .
If it is potentially dangerous to our health then why do we need it? Well, believe it or not sodium plays a pretty big role in our bodies. It maintains the water balances in your cells. It also serves in the function of nerve impulses as well as muscles. After your body gets the amount of sodium required, it disposes of the extra through the kidneys.
Here is a look at the conversion rate from salt to sodium:
- 1/4 tsp. salt = 500 mg sodium
- 1/2 tsp. salt = 1,000 mg sodium
- 3/4 tsp. salt = 1,500 mg sodium
- 1 tsp. salt = 2,000 mg sodium
If something is labelled as "sodium-free" then it must contain less than 5 mg of sodium. So don't be fooled because very few items on the market are actually 0% sodium. A way to reduce the amount of salt you use, it is recommended that you completely remove the salt shaker from the dinner table and just consume the natural sodium within your food. Also, if you can, try to stay away from fast food restaurants as they tend to use a lot of salt and most of the time they don't measure how much their actually putting on your food. There is no way to completely eliminate sodium from your diet but you should definitely try to reduce it. I personally don't add any additional salt to the food I consume, and I try to steer clear of fast food as much as possible. The main reason is because if you're on a budget, then you would want to stay away from fast food because it is costly and also because too much sodium intake is bad for your health. Just because it doesn't seem to affect you now, doesn't mean that it won't catch up with you in the future because it will. When you are young you don't notice the effects but as you get older you will wish you controlled how much sodium you consumed.
Thanks for reading today's post and I hope you enjoyed it as well as maybe learned a thing or two. I provided you with the facts from people who have studied sodium very closely, what you choose to do is your choice. Enjoy the rest of your day, and if you haven't already please FOLLOW us on Twitter @budgetsnacks and LIKE our page on Facebook Healthy Students on a Budget !
- Kurtis
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