Low Sodium Grocers, Food Stores, and Restaurants Wanted!

Please read the details at the press release we published yesterday:

http://www.prlog.org/10321306-low-sodium-food-stores-grocers-and-restaurants-wanted.html

There are other great healthy dieting blogs too!

I registered my blog at halfhourmeals.com. It is a very nicely design, neat site where you can find (besides recipes) other blogs on cooking, foods, and healthy dieting.

Particularly their section on "organic and natural food blogs" include other great blogs in various forms of healthy dieting such as organic food diet, low fat diet, low carb diet, diabetic diet, and more. All the blogs get manually reviewed and posted after the moderators' approvals, therefore the blogs listed there must have useful content for their readers.

While you are visiting this site, please do not forget to give eatlowsodium blog an excellent rating!

Thank you

Here is the direct link to the blog list: http://www.halfhourmeals.com/blogs/

Can't find sodium content of a product?

Hi,

As some of you know, the Department of Agriculture has an extensive database of nutrition content for food products sold in the U.S. I would like to share with you the link to this database so you can check the sodium content of the food products you are curious about. This way you don't have to run to the grocery store to check nutrition labels :-)

Here is the link:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

Also at the same site, there is a big (25 pages) list of products with their sodium content. A very useful source for people that are on strict low sodium diet:
Click here to download the file
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR21/nutrlist/sr21w307.pdf

The same file in alphabetical order:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR21/nutrlist/sr21a307.pdf

Enjoy!
Umit

Why should someone eat foods with lower sodium?

According to USCF Medical Center, the average American eats five or more teaspoons of salt each day. This is about 20 times as much as the body needs. In fact, your body needs only one quarter of a teaspoon of salt every day.

What happens if your sodium intake is high? Too much sodium in your diet can cause your body to retain excess fluid. This excess fluid can collect in your hands, ankles, belly, and lungs. This is especially important for patients with liver, heart, or kidney disease.

There are also other health problems that high sodium intake can cause or aggravate (source: Menzies Research Institute):

Prehypertension, hypertension, severe premenstrual syndrome, vertigo of Meniere's disorder, congestive heart failure, diabetic retinitis, calcium kidney/bladder stones, stomach cancer, and more...

You do not have to suffer from one of these problems to be on a low sodium diet. Please read this informative article about the importance of low salt diet for your health: Salt intake brings new level of alarm, published at USAToday.

What type of foods have more sodium?

Sodium occurs naturally in most foods. The most common form of sodium is sodium chloride, which is table salt. Milk, beets, and celery also naturally contain sodium, as does drinking water, although the amount varies depending on the source.

Sodium is also added to various food products. Some of these added forms are monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite, sodium saccharin, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and sodium benzoate. These are ingredients in condiments and seasonings such as Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, onion salt, garlic salt, and bouillon cubes.

Processed meats, such as bacon, sausage, and ham, and canned soups and vegetables are all examples of foods that contain added sodium. Fast foods are generally very high in sodium.

Reference: NIH Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia

How to follow a low sodium diet

Here are fews tip on following a low sodium diet:

Eat fewer processed foods such as potato chips, frozen dinners and cured meats. Instead, eat more unprocessed, fresh foods, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, poultry, fish and unprocessed grains.

Choose foods labeled "low sodium" or "reduced sodium." Also do not rely on the labels and check the nutrition chart of every product you buy or use. Note sodium and portion size information.

Don't add salt to your food. Instead, use herbs and spices to flavor foods.

Do not drink water from water softeners as many water softeners use salt to get rid of the 'hardness' in water.