500 Low Sodium Recipes (2 page)

If you are reading this introduction, it’s probably because you’ve been told that you should be following a lower sodium diet. Maybe it was a doctor’s advice or order. Lots of medical conditions cause doctors to recommend lowering your sodium intake. Some of the more common ones are high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, Ménière’s disease, and liver disease, to name a few. Or perhaps you’ve heard about the benefits of reducing the amount of sodium you eat or are just looking for a way to eat healthier and feel better.

Whatever the reason, most people may have some questions before deciding this book is the help they are seeking. In this introduction we’ll answer the most common ones.

There isn’t any simple answer to that question. What is low for one person may be unacceptably high for someone else. The question of how much sodium you should have is one you should discuss with your doctor, dietitian, or other health care professional. The list following, however, provides you with some figures to think about.

Recommendations

It’s estimated that the average daily intake in the United States and Western Europe is three to five times these recommendations. The National Academy of Sciences estimates that more than 95 percent of American men and 90 percent of Canadian men ages 31 to 50, and 75 percent of American women and 50 percent of Canadian women in this age range regularly consume sodium in excess of 5800 mg daily.

My personal target is 1200 mg per day. Depending on the doctor and the medical condition, I’ve seen recommendations for a “low sodium diet” anywhere from less than 1000 mg to more than 2000 mg. But the bottom line is that you are going to have to make some significant changes to your diet to keep your sodium intake that low. My goal is to help you make those changes while still eating the food you like.

When you think of sodium, salt is probably the first thing that comes to mind. Although the two terms “sodium” and “salt” are often used interchangeably, they really are different
substances. The chemical name for salt is sodium chloride. By weight, salt is composed of 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chlorine. One teaspoon of salt weighs 5 grams and contains about 2300 mg of sodium.

Sodium is essential for good health. It is a mineral that the body cannot manufacture itself, so it must be supplied by food. However, most of us get a lot more than we need. Many medical experts believe that about 500 mg per day is the minimum amount of sodium needed to keep the body working properly. As you can see from the figures on the previous page, ¼ teaspoon of salt contains more than this 500 mg.

Much of the sodium we take in does come from salt. So an obvious first step in reducing sodium intake is to stop using salt. Don’t add it to things you cook and don’t sprinkle it on at the table.

But that is not enough. Prepared foods contain salt and other sodium compounds in amounts that will quickly send you past your daily allowance. A can of soup may have as much as 1000 mg of sodium. I’ve seen cans of chili with 2400 mg. Even a slice of bread may have several hundred mg. So we need to find a way to replace these high-sodium prepared items with low sodium versions.

The final source of sodium in our food is that which occurs naturally. Meats and other animal products contain natural sodium. A serving of meat or milk may contain 75 to 100 mg or more of sodium. Generally speaking, most meats and dairy products have less than 100 mg per 3- to 4-ounce (84 to 112-g) serving. Cured meats such as ham, bacon, and sausage and dairy products with added salt like most cheeses have more, but they should all have nutritional labels indicating the amount of sodium. These all need to be counted, too, toward our daily allowance.

Let’s answer the “Who are you, anyway?” question. First let me tell you who I’m not. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a dietitian. I’m not a professional chef. What I
am
is an ordinary person just like you who was told he needed to be following a low sodium diet. I’m not going to give you medical advice or tell you whether certain foods are right for the diet you are following. You need to work those things out with your doctor or other health care provider. What I am going to do is give you 500 recipes for low sodium foods. Most of them are the kinds of things people cook in their own kitchens all the time, not the kinds of items you’ll find on the menu of a fancy restaurant. The difference is my version of these recipes has the sodium reduced so you can eat them and still stay within your sodium restrictions.