Why Sodium Substitutes are Healthier

Sodium is an essential mineral for the human body. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the recommended sodium intake per individual should be no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, and that certain groups limit intake to 1,500 milligrams per day. But in a recent report released by the Centers for Disease Control, nine in ten Americans get too much sodium every day, endorsing the use of sodium substitutes in their diet instead.

Sodium plays a major role in human body. It maintains fluid balance and is a main nutrient used in nerve impulse transmission and muscle contraction. Krista Sheehan, R.N. further explains the role of Sodium in her article:

The Importance of Sodium:

Although it’s often touted as a nutrition villain, sodium actually plays a variety of important roles in the body. Sodium not only helps maintain healthy fluid balance, it also contributes to proper muscle contraction and nerve impulse conduction. Still, the body needs far less sodium than the average person actually consumes — and the importance of sodium is negated when too much of the salty stuff fills the bloodstream. Read more…

As they can’t be seen with naked eyes, Sodium intake usually goes unmonitored resulting to excessive consumption. To lower down your sodium in your diet, Fit Day listed some good replacements:

9 Sodium Substitutes

There are many reasons to limit sodium in your diet and many ways to do that and still eat tasty food. Excess sodium is not good for the heart and for the blood pressure. It can also lead to water retention and can slow down weight loss for a variety of reasons. Not all sources of sodium are equal in terms of health, so one step you can take is to switch your sodium source. There are also many ways to add taste and variety to your foods without using salt of any kind. Read more…

Sodium is one of the most added ingredients in food – it is typically over-consumed in very high amounts. Generally, most of the sodium we consumed came from the processed foods. To reduce this mineral from your diet, Ella Quittner shares her collection of low sodium recipes that you can try:

24 Tasty, Low-Sodium Recipes for Every Meal

The average person in the U.S. consumes about 3,400 milligrams of sodium daily, more than twice the American Heart Association’s recommended limit of 1,500 milligrams a day.

Isn’t it time you cut back? Here are some low-sodium meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as snacks and drinks, that taste great without boosting blood pressure. Read more…

Sodium can help us in many ways. But as the saying goes, “Too much of something is bad enough” and this can apply to your sodium intake, too! Sodium substitutes is the best solution to lessening your consumption without affecting the taste of your food. It also best if you start cooking for yourself to monitor your intakes rather than buying processed foods that contains high amount of sodium.

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