I wanted to re-visit the issue of sodium, because that is the most common question we have received so far about the tips I offered Sunday night.
Q. Why is sodium bad for you?
A. Sodium is not bad for you - your body needs sodium, just like it needs many other minerals and nutrients. However, the body only needs about 500 mg of sodium to function properly. Most Americans eat way more than that. A healthy diet restricts sodium to around 1200-1500 mg per day; anything over 2400 is considered excessive. A typical fast-food meal of a burger and fries contains around 1300 mg.
Q. What will too much sodium do to me?
A. Excessive sodium has been conclusively linked to high blood pressure, which causes problems for all body systems. The probability of heart attack, stroke, liver disease, kidney disease, and other catastrophic illnesses goes up with increased blood pressure. An added side effect is that too much sodium causes the body to retain water, which affects your number on the scale each week.
Q. How can I reduce sodium in my diet?
A. Read labels and make good food choices, for one. Green beans, for example, are packed with a large amount of sodium. A regular can of green beans has about 330 mg of sodium per 1/2 cup serving. A "no salt added" can of the same product has 50 mg of sodium. When you consider that you only should be eating 400-500 mg of sodium per meal, that regular can of green beans doesn't look so healthy anymore. Be especially wary of products labeled "diet", "sugar-free", and "fat-free" - they will frequently use high levels of sodium to compensate for the ingredients they leave out.
The foods in a well-balanced diet contain more than enough sodium for your body - take the salt shaker off the table, and don't add salt to anything while you are cooking with it. Be careful of things like seasoning salt, etc., which contain large amounts of salt. If you find your food too bland without salt, sometimes you can mimic the salty taste with a buttery spray such as "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter".
Even some traditional diet foods can derail your diet - cottage cheese and pineapple were a staple of many diets when I was growing up. However, cottage cheese can, in some people, make you retain water; pineapple is the second-worst fruit you can eat if you are trying to lose weight because of the sugar levels (only watermelon is worse).
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