WHAT YOU SHOULD
KNOW
For some people, too much sodium can cause a rise in
blood pressure. Patients with severe blood pressure, kidney, or
heart problems often must follow a low-salt diet, in which
sodium is restricted to 2 grams a day. For those with a milder
problem, however, a less-restrictive "No-Added-Salt" diet may
be sufficient. This "compromise" diet limits sodium intake to 4
grams (4,000 milligrams) a day.
WHAT YOU SHOULD
DO
Do not add salt to food during cooking or eating, and do
not eat any of the high-sodium foods listed below. Read labels
on all packaged foods to check for sodium. Many stores have
salt-free or low salt-foods such as cheese, soup, crackers,
bread, or salad dressing. Make sure prepared foods contain
fewer than 700 milligrams of sodium per serving. The salt-free
seasonings listed below may help make up for the lack
salt.
PRODUCTS TO
AVOID
-
Bacon and bacon
fat
-
Barbecue sauce
-
Bouillon, broth, and
consommé
-
Buttermilk
-
Canned, salted, and smoked
fish and meat (such as anchovies, chipped and corned beef,
ham, herring, hot dogs, lox, lunch meats, pickled herring,
sausage, and tuna)
-
Canned tomato or V-8®
juice
-
Regular processed cheeses or
cheese spreads (such as Velveeta®, Cheez Whiz®,
or American)
-
Chili sauce
-
Cottage cheese
-
Saltine crackers, soda
crackers, and other crackers with salted tops
-
Dried soup, sauce, and gravy
mixes
-
Frozen dinners
-
Garlic salt
-
Instant potato, noodle, rice,
stuffing, and casserole mixes
-
Meat
tenderizers
-
Monosodium glutamate
(MSG)
-
Olives
-
Onion salt
-
Pickled cucumbers, onions,
relishes, and other pickled vegetables
-
Regular canned soups and
canned vegetables
-
Popcorn, nuts, pretzels,
potato chips, corn chips, tortilla chips, and other salted
snacks
-
Sauerkraut
-
Seasoned salt
-
Soy sauce
-
Steak sauces
-
Table salt
-
Worcestershire
sauce
TRY THESE SALT-FREE
SEASONINGS
-
Basil
-
Black or white ground
pepper
-
Celery seed
-
Chili powder
-
Chives
-
Cumin
-
Curry powder
-
Dill weed or
seed
-
Dry mustard
-
Fresh onion or
garlic
-
Garlic powder
-
Lemon juice
-
Low-sodium bouillon
cubes
-
Marjoram
-
Onion powder
-
Oregano
-
Parsley
-
Poultry
seasoning
-
Rosemary
-
Sage
-
Salt substitutes (Do not use
salt substitutes containing potassium chloride without your
doctor's permission.)
-
Savory
-
Tarragon
-
Thyme
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