Sodium - How Much Do I Need?

Posted on March 5, 2008

» Filed Under Nutrition |



Did you know sodium is an essential mineral for our health? It’s necessary for maintaining fluid balance in our body, as well as the function of nerve and muscle cells. So why is there so much attention on avoiding sodium as if it’s bad for you? Because most Americans get way too much in their diet.

Too much sodium can contribute to high blood pressure in certain people, and cause an increase in fluid retention which can be life-threatening in some conditions. How much do we need? Less than 500 milligrams a day. Yet the average dietary intake of sodium in this country ranges from 2000 to 4000 milligrams, with some people getting over 6000 milligrams a day. In fact, it is so difficult to get the amount in our daily diets down to 500 milligrams that the Food and Nutrition Board has made a recommendation for a ‘maximum intake’ instead of a recommended dietary allowance, as is customary for most minerals. The recommendation is to aim for a sodium intake between 2000 and 2500 milligrams daily. The next question is, how can you tell how much you are getting in your diet? To some extent there are food labels: But many foods come without labels and it’s not realistic to be counting up what you are eating all day long. So let’s take a look at the sodium content of some common foods, and how you can make a judgment fairly quickly as to whether it’s high sodium, or reasonable to eat.

First of all, more often than not, if it doesn’t have a label, it’s not high in sodium. Fresh fruits and vegetables, for instance, are extremely low in sodium-all of them. The only time you’ll find high sodium content is when these foods are processed: Dried, pickled, fermented-think pickles, olives, and some dried fruits. Canned vegetables have sodium added for flavoring and preservatives. They also have labels so you can see how much is there. Frozen vegetables are typically quite low in sodium.

Fresh meats (including chicken and fish) are not high in sodium. Again, if they come in a box and are pre-prepared you can see on the label what you’re getting. Take a close look at processed and smoked meats, such as ham and bologna. Dairy products aren’t usually a source of high sodium content either, but check the label on cheeses and cottage cheeses-more processing equals more sodium.

Baked goods have sodium in them from the baking soda or baking powder (sodium bicarbonate) used for leavening. So don’t be surprised if you pick up a loaf of bread and find there are 120 milligrams of sodium in a slice. Yes, 120 sounds like a high number, but remember you are shooting for 2000 a day, so it’s not a large percent of your targeted total.

So where does most of our sodium intake come from: Processed foods, no doubt, including canned soups and stews, frozen dinners, and the biggest culprit of all, fast food. Fortunately, these all have labels. Any fast food restaurant will gladly hand over a sheet of their nutritional information (or you can look it up on line!) Chinese food also contains a high amount of sodium from their cooking ingredient, monosodium glutamate. Most places will be happy to omit it when preparing your dish, but the soups and other prepared foods (such as egg rolls) do contain significant amounts of sodium.

The best way to keep your sodium intake from climbing too high is to limit fast foods, prepared foods, and otherwise processed foods. For more information, read the next article in this series, “Sodium: Figuring Out How Much to Eat”.

Laurie Beebe is a registered dietitian certified in adult weight management. Laurie has transitioned into life coaching to help people implement changes in their environment. Please visit “Shaping Your Future” at http://www.mycoachlaurie.com for diet tips, links to great books and websites, and to sign up for a free monthly newsletter.

Article Author :Laurie_Beebe


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