Fit For Wellness

Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!  This is my 10th straight day of work at the hospital so I’m obviously looking forward to getting a day off on Friday.  Cory has classes on Monday and Tuesday nights which leaves me cooking for one.  On one of my solo nights this week, I tried Amy’s Organic Lentil Vegetable Soup- Light in Sodium.

Served with Kashi’s  Honey Sesame whole grain crackers.  This soup was loaded with carrots, spinach, green beans, onions, potatoes, celery, tomatoes, and lentils of course!  I LOVED this soup; it is totally my new favorite.  I give it a 8.5 out of 10 on the taste scale.

The nutritional stats are pretty good- low in saturated fat, 0 trans fats, and great source of fiber!  This was lower in sodium than most canned soups with 340 mg of sodium per serving.  I ended up eating the entire can which was 680 mg of sodium… a bit high but it is certainly better than most canned soups.  Speaking of sodium…

Salt has been headlining the news. Just yesterday, I read 5 news articles regarding sodium and blood pressure. While sodium is a vital nutrient and is necessary for the body to function, people on average consume more than 4,000 mg of sodium daily which is nearly double what a healthy adult should consume.  According to the American Heart Association (AHA), Americans consume up to 75% of their sodium intake from processed foods like canned foods, condiments, prepared mixes, and deli meats.  If you rely heavily on convenience foods, in my opinion food companies and manufacturers are partly responsible for how much sodium you take in each day.  New York City has just launched a campaign, The National Salt Reduction Initiative, with a goal to decrease American’s salt intake by 20% over the next five years.  The AHA is on board with this initiative and would like to expand the goal to see food manufacturers and restaurants reduce the sodium added to foods by 50% over the next 10 years.

Why is salt getting so much attention?  Increased salt intakes have been linked to hypertension (high blood pressure), heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.  Uncontrolled high blood pressure is sometimes called “the silent killer” because it usual has no symptoms.  You may not be aware that it’s damaging your arteries, heart and other organs.  Untreated high blood pressure may lead to damage to the heart and coronary arteries, stroke, kidney damage, vision loss, and memory loss/dementia.  Salt intake has even been linked to stomach damage;  Helicobacter pylori – a bacteria that can survive in the stomach’s acidic environment, known to cause peptic ulcers and gastritis, can increase chances of developing stomach cancer.  Research even suggests that a high sodium diet may be associated with decreased bone density (due to calcium loss).

The American Heart Association’s Recommendations on Sodium Intake:

• Aim to eat less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day.
• Some people – African Americans, middle-aged and older adults, and people with high blood pressure – need less than 1,500 mg per day.

Table salt, aka sodium chloride, is ~40% sodium.  One teaspoon of table salt equals 2,300 mg sodium which is most people’s daily allowance!  To effectively lower your sodium intake, reading nutritional labels is a must.  If a product has greater than 400-500 mg of sodium per serving, it probably is not the best choice in regards to sodium.

Do you have a favorite “light in sodium” or “low sodium” canned or packaged food?  

Kasey