A recommendation on sodium intake has been made by the American Heart Association. It’s pretty aggressive. But these heart researchers feel very strongly that lowering sodium/salt intake can help the 76 million U.S. adults with high blood pressure, AND may prevent high blood pressure in millions of other Americans.
The average daily sodium intake: 3,400 mg. The USDA sodium guidelines: less than 2,300 mg, and the American Heart Association sodium guidelines: less than 1, 500 mg.
Sodium intake adds up quickly when you rely on convenience items. For example, a homemade spaghetti sauce has ~50 mg sodium in ½ cup but ½ cup jarred spaghetti sauce can be as high as 800 mg of sodium.
As much as possible, have dishes prepared from scratch, with flavorful herbs and spices for seasoning rather than salt. Remember, every time that you omit 1 teaspoon of salt from a recipe, you save 2,300 mg of sodium!! Holy cow!
Be alert when shopping. The Nutrition Facts label on each and every packaged food item MUST list the sodium content per serving. And the American Heart Association reminds us that reducing our sodium/salt intake can help keep the blood pressure of ALL family members in good control. And that will reduce cardiovascular disease risk!
