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We have been thinking a lot about sodium lately. Every time we enter a grocery store item on this site, or look to buy prepared items to make things like chili baked potatoes, we find that most things have 30% or more of our recommended daily allowance (RDA) of sodium. We also began to notice (while calculating nutrition for homemade baked goods) that with just a small amount of added salt, each serving was quite high in sodium compared with what we expected. We began to wonder: how much is our RDA of sodium, really? What is sodium good for, and what are the downsides of taking in too much?
We learned that our RDA is just under 1 teaspoon of salt! We’re not sure what we expected, but a teaspoon was definitely less than what we thought. After all, how liberally do some of us salt our food! It isn’t too hard to get a teaspoon of salt in one’s daily diet, and with one trip down the prepared food aisles we quickly see how it is VERY easy to go way over that number. We also learned that in the United Kingdom the RDA for sodium for adults and children is < 1600 (just under 3/4 tsp of table salt). According to the Mayo Clinic, 77% of our sodium intake comes from processed and prepared foods, with only 5% added from cooking.
Why do we need salt?
Salt helps regulate the fluid in our bodies. However, when sodium levels get too high, it can cause a blood pressure increase, which is subsequently linked to greater risk of heart disease and stroke. Most Americans get 3,000 to 4,000 milligrams of sodium every day(!), almost double the RDA and more than twice the recommended value in the UK.
What can you do to lower sodium?
- Become a label reader. For example, when buying prepared soup, look at the different varieties and select the one lowest in sodium.
- Eat a diet rich in fruit and vegetables and lower in processed foods.
- Lower the added salt in baked goods by 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. While salt adds flavor to baked goods, you can remove this amount from a recipe without noticing an effect.
- Do some rough calculations. If you consume a prepared salad for lunch with 47% RDA of sodium, choose a home-cooked, low-sodium dinner to balance out your lunch.
- Be aware of other sources. For example, 1 teaspoon of baking soda has 1,000 mg of sodium, and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce also contains 1,000 mg. However, we found evidence to suggest that using soy sauce instead of salt could actually lower your sodium intake.
Okay, so this is cool. We read a news story by the Associated Press about a new web site that lets you compare the relative health of your county with others in your state. The site’s data, from a report by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “paints a picture” of areas for improvement.
I recently discovered a way to save on lunch meat. I have passed by the large, whole, fully-cooked, plain or maple-flavored boneless hams in the meat department many times before while shopping at our local Shur Save. It was simply too much for a meal unless extended family was coming to dinner! One time, for whatever reason, I viewed them as a significant cost savings in comparison to the deli meats. I did some quick calculations: the whole ham was priced at $2.99 per pound … the deli meat was $7.49 per pound … at two pounds of meat per week, we’d save $9 each week. That works out to $36 per month or almost $400 per year (assuming we have ham every day of course!) I wondered if I could have it sliced and freeze it. Would it still taste good? I asked the meat manager if they could slice it for me and he said “Sure, what thickness?” and, “Would you like it divided up into specific increments?” I had him slice the ham up and put it on a tray.
Okay, I admit, it’s a sensational headline, but it’s an interesting way to think about the drink that gets many of us through the day. I’ve tried many different ways of procuring this nectar of life: the neighborhood barista, free coffee from the bank, and using a coffee machine or french press at home. Of course, the first one is the only one that really adds up, but this article as much about taste as it is about cost anyway, so here goes…