Low Sodium (Salt) Eating Why Low Sodium Eating is Important This resource is designed to help you choose foods that are lower in sodium (salt). Low sodium eating has been shown to help prevent high blood pressure, help keep your bones strong and may lower your risk for getting kidney stones. Increased blood pressure has been linked to several chronic diseases such as stroke, heart disease and kidney disease. Aim for 1500 mg of sodium a day, staying below the upper tolerable intake of 2300 mg per day. To lower sodium intake: 1. Make meals from scratch using unprocessed, fresh, or frozen foods more often. Examples in each of Canada s Food Guide food groups include: Vegetables and Fruit: any fresh/frozen or canned vegetables and fruits without added sodium Grain products: plain rice, barley, oats and noodles Milk and Alternatives: milk and yogurt When buying canned foods, choose ones with no salt added. Meat and Alternatives: plain meat, fish or poultry, unsalted nuts and seeds, and dried peas, beans and lentils. 2. Limit fast foods and convenience or ready-to-eat foods (such as seasoned pasta or rice mixes), frozen prepared meals, and canned foods (such as soups and stews). 3. When eating out, check the nutrition information and order foods lower in salt. Ask your server about lower salt choices, and ask for sauces on the side. Updated: 2011-07-15 PAGE 1
4. Read the Nutrition Facts box on packaged foods and choose foods lower in sodium. Look for the words sodium-free, low sodium, reduced sodium, or no added salt on the package. You can also use the %Daily Value (%DV) on the label to compare products and to see if the food has a little or a lot of sodium. 5% DV or less is a little and 15% DV or more is a lot. Check the food labels regularly because product ingredients may change. Remember to consider how many servings of a food you might have at one sitting. For example: If one serving of 4 crackers has 115mg sodium, and you have 8 crackers, you are eating 230 mg sodium. 5. Limit processed deli meats or cold cuts (such as ham, turkey roll); cured meats (such as bacon, corned beef); processed cheese and cheese spreads; pickles, condiments (ketchup, mustard) and salty sauces (soy sauce). 6. Instead of using salt at the table and in cooking try adding low sodium herbs, spices, seasonings, and other flavourings. Use fresh or dried garlic, onions, and ginger instead of salty seasonings (such as sea salt, garlic salt, onion salt, MSG). Other Tips Check with your doctor before: Using salt substitutes (for example: Half Salt, No Salt ) as they can contain high amounts of sodium and/or potassium. Taking medications (including laxatives and antacids) or home remedies (baking soda), as these can be high in sodium. If you are a competitive athlete or working in a job where you sweat a lot (i.e. fire fighter), you may need more salt in your diet to replace sweat losses. Distributed by: Updated: 2011-07-15 PAGE 2
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Low Sodium (Salt) Cooking Home cooking can be very delicious when made without salt. There is a world of herbs, spices, seasonings and flavourings just waiting for you. Helpful Tips for Cooking Start with the best ingredients: Buy unprocessed fresh or frozen whole foods more often. Always check labels to find out how much salt a product contains. Choose the brand/product with the lowest sodium available. Use pre-prepared sauces and condiments like barbeque sauce, soy sauce or ketchup less often or buy lower salt options. Drain away the liquid and rinse canned vegetables and legumes (dried beans, peas, lentils) before using them. Many canned vegetables are now available with no added salt. Compare labels to find lower salt choices. Add flavour and a fresh taste to your food: Use fresh or dried herbs, spices, or seasonings that do not contain salt, sea salt or other sources of sodium. For example, use: fresh garlic or garlic powder (not garlic salt) fresh, dried or powdered onion (not onion salt) fresh ginger or ginger powder fresh or dried herbs (basil, parsley, cilantro, fennel, lemon grass, rosemary, thyme, sage) commercially prepared varieties of salt-free seasonings are also available (i.e. Mrs. Dash, Spike, etc.) Updated: 2011-07-15 PAGE 1
Make your own blend of a salt-free seasoning that can be used for many dishes. For example, use it for seasoning meats, poultry, fish, and vegetables. Mix and store in your pantry. 15 ml (1 Tbsp) dried mustard 15 ml (1 Tbsp) paprika 15 ml (1 Tbsp) garlic powder 15 ml (1 Tbsp) onion powder 7 ml (1 ½ tsp) black pepper 5 ml (1 tsp) basil 5 ml (1 tsp) thyme Source: 1992 BCDNA Manual of Nutritional Care. Make sauces from scratch using fresh or frozen fruit, such as cranberry or apple sauce. Fresh salsa made with peaches or mango is delicious served with fish, meat or chicken. Make salad dressings at home from different oils, vinegars, herbs, spices and garlic. Sprinkle balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar on vegetables and use it to give extra zip to marinades and salad dressings. Use juice or wine as a flavouring in marinades, stewed meats and sauces. Use fresh garlic and ginger in stir-fries. Unsalted peanut butter adds a Thai flavour. Other tips: Cook extra meat, fish and poultry to use the next day for your sandwiches instead of deli meats or cold cuts. Look for new flavouring ideas in cookbooks, magazines and on websites. Have fun trading recipes with friends and family. These resources are provided as sources of additional information believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of publication and should not be considered an endorsement of any information, service, product or company. Updated: 2011-07-15 PAGE 2
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Low Sodium (Salt) Food Choices Food Group Foods Lower in Sodium Foods Higher in Sodium Milk and Alternatives (2-3 servings each day) Grain Products (6-8 servings each day) Milk, yogurt Unsalted cottage cheese Grains cooked without salt (rice, barley, oats and noodles) Low sodium bread Unsalted cooked cereal (e.g. oatmeal, cream of wheat, Red River hot cereal) Low sodium cold cereals Homemade quick breads without salt (muffins, banana bread, cornbread) Low Sodium crackers and breadsticks, unsalted breadcrumbs Chocolate milk (unless homemade with cocoa), milkshakes, malted milk Regular hard cheese (limit to 1 ½ oz or 50 g per day) Processed cheese, (slices, spreads and sauces), ricotta, cottage cheese Buttermilk Most commercial breads Salt-topped or coated breads and rolls, most regular crackers, selfrising flour and biscuit mixes, salted breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs, home made quick breads made with salt Regular cold cereals Commercially seasoned pasta or rice mixes, commercial bread stuffing Instant hot cereals, pancakes, and waffles Updated: 2011-07-15 PAGE 1
Food Group Foods Low in Sodium Foods Higher in Sodium Meat and Alternatives (2-3 servings each day) Vegetables and Fruit 7-10 servings each day) Any fresh or frozen meat, poultry, fish or shellfish Fresh fish and shellfish or low sodium canned fish (or regular if drained and rinsed) Eggs and egg substitutes Unsalted nuts, seeds, and unsalted nut/seed butter Cooked dried peas, beans, and lentils Fresh and frozen vegetables All fruit including fresh, frozen, canned and juices Low sodium canned vegetables Regular tomato paste Low sodium vegetable juices Any meat, poultry, fish or shellfish that has been salted, smoked, cured, koshered, marinated, pickled, canned or commercially breaded Processed meats: bacon, deli meats and cold cuts, ham, hot dogs, sausage, imitation seafood Sardines, anchovies Pickled eggs Salted nuts and their butters Regular canned vegetables, sauerkraut, pickled vegetables, and others prepared in brine (pickles, olives) Frozen vegetables in sauces Regular vegetable or tomato juices Instant and processed potato or vegetable mixes Updated: 2011-07-15 PAGE 2
Food Group Foods Lower in Sodium Foods Higher in Sodium Other Foods Onions, garlic, ginger, horseradish Pepper, herbs, spices, vinegar, lemon or lime juice, hot pepper sauce Salt substitute made from potassium chloride with doctor's approval (NuSalt, NoSalt, Salt- It, Spike ). Salt substitutes made from herb/spice blends (e.g.mrs. Dash ) Low-sodium condiments (low sodium ketchup, low sodium barbecue sauce, dry mustard) Unsalted snack foods (popcorn, pretzels, tortilla chips, potato chips) Carbonated beverages Sugar, honey, syrup, jam, jelly Dry cocoa powder Salt (Sea salt, rock salt, kosher salt) Salt substitutes containing salt (Half Salt ) Any seasoning with salt (garlic salt, celery salt, onion salt, seasoned salt) Meat tenderizers, monosodium glutamate (MSG) Regular soy sauce, sodium-reduced soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce Most processed sauces (barbecue, regular and reduced sodium teriyaki, and steak sauces) Canned or dried gravy Regular condiments (ketchup, mustard, relish) Salted snack foods, olives Salsa Instant pudding mixes Cake and pie mixes Updated: 2011-07-15 PAGE 3
Food Group Foods Lower in Sodium Foods Higher in Sodium Soups Oils and Fats Low sodium canned broth or bouillon Low sodium broth or bouillon cubes/granules Homemade broth and soup made with low sodium ingredients Vegetable oils, or low sodium margarine Unsalted salad dressings Regular canned soup, broth, or bouillon Many low sodium soups (check label) Regular broth cubes or powders Dips made with dried soup mixes or processed cheese Regular salad dressings (limit to 1 Tbsp or 15 ml) Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. www.heartandstroke.ca. Provides useful heart health information, as well as low sodium, heart healthy recipes. Call 1-888-473-4636. Canadian Diabetes Association, Dietitians of Canada. "Healthy Eating is in Store for You Nutrition Labelling Fact Sheets". www.healthyeatingisinstore.ca/pdf/eng_rgb_factsheet.pdf These resources are provided as sources of additional information believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of publication and should not be considered an endorsement of any information, service, product or company. Updated: 2011-07-15 PAGE 4
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