Sodium Tips - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. Sodium is needed by the body so you know, a lot of people need to go on a salt-free diet or a low salt diet if they have high blood pressure, but for most of us, the ones that have normal blood pressure, we do not need to go on a really low salt diet. Salt is needed for muscle contraction and nerve transmissions and maintaining your PH balance and hydration, so not enough salt is actually just as much a problem as too much salt. Most adults need about 2300 milligrams of sodium a day. That is the top of the limit. That is about one teaspoon, so when you look at the salt that you are eating that you actually put on food or put in food while you are cooking it, you are probably over that limit. And if you eat any products that are packaged products, whether you eat chips or even just canned soup, you are going to be eating a lot of salt. So one thing I do recommend is if you are buying anything in a package or can, read the sodium content on the nutrition label. You are going to see that everything, every processed food is loaded with salt and the best thing you can do is try not to salt your food, and that way your taste buds will develop less of a need for salt and you would not need as much. Some of the ways that you can reduce your sodium intake besides not salting your food is to cook your own food. You will notice that when you read nutrition labels, that most products that come in a can or a package have a lot of sodium added, and that is usually because there is not much taste. Processed food needs some help, and if it is not sugar, it is salt and salt is very commonly added to processed foods. Things like olives and pickles are one thing. Canned soups, any kind of a frozen dinner, and even if it says low sodium on the package or can, it does not really mean that it is low sodium. It means it is lower in sodium than the regular version, so the low sodium version may even have way too much salt for a normal person and you will go over your 2300 milligram a day limit. It is very rare to have a sodium deficiency. In fact, nobody really does. The only people that may be low in sodium are marathon runners who drink too much water during their run and it really washes all of the sodium out of their body. So. that is the only case where it is a danger, so if you are not a marathon runner, you are not going to be deficient in sodium. And just you know, pay attention, read labels, try not to salt your food, and at least taste your food before you salt it and you will be able to keep your sodium levels where they should be.
