Sodium in Your Diet: Reduce its intake by using Food Label

Despite what many people think, use of the salt shaker is not the main cause of too much sodium in your diet. In fact, over 75% of dietary sodium comes from eating packaged and restaurant foods. 

• The Nutrition Facts Label on food and beverage packages is a useful tool for making healthful dietary choices and monitoring how much sodium is contained in a food you are considering.
• Full nutrition labeling is not required of restaurants for their menu items, unless nutrient claims are made, such as “Low Sodium” or “Low Fat.”  So, you may not learn how much sodium is in a food unless you ask.

Check the Label!

High levels of sodium may seem “hidden” in packaged food, particularly when a food doesn’t “taste” salty – but sodium is not hidden on the Nutrition Facts Label!

• The Nutrition Facts Label lists the Percent Daily Value (%DV) of sodium in one serving of a food.
• The %DV for sodium is based on 100% of the recommended amount of sodium, which is less than 2400 milligrams (mg) per day.
• The %DV listed is for one serving, but many packages contain more than one serving! Look at the serving size and how many servings you are actually consuming – if you eat two servings you get twice as much sodium (or double the %DV).

Use the Percent Daily Value (%DV) to Compare Products

The %DV tells you whether a food contributes a little or a lot to your total daily diet.

• 5%DV (120 mg) or less of sodium per serving is low
• 20%DV (480 mg) or more of sodium per serving is high

You can also check the front of the food package to quickly identify foods that may contain less sodium. For example, look for foods with claims such as:

• Salt/Sodium-Free → Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving
• Very Low Sodium → 35 mg of sodium or less per serving
• Low Sodium → 140 mg of sodium or less per serving
• Reduced Sodium → At least 25% less sodium than in the original product
• Light in Sodium or Lightly Salted → At least 50% less sodium than the regular product
• No-Salt-Added or Unsalted → No salt is added during processing, but not necessarily sodium-free. Check the Nutrition Facts Label to be sure!

Sodium’s Health Connection

Sodium attracts water and a high-sodium diet draws water into the bloodstream, which increases the volume of blood and over time can increase your blood pressure. High blood pressure (also known as hypertension) forces the heart to work harder and can damage blood vessels and organs – increasing your risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke.

And since blood pressure normally rises with age, limiting your sodium intake becomes even more important each year.  The good news is that eating less sodium can often help lower blood pressure to within the normal range…which can, in turn, help reduce your risk of developing these serious medical conditions.

Source: USFDA, http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm315393.htm

- Naim KHALID