Sodium is a naturally occurring, essential mineral that helps regulate body fluids and kidney function. But in high doses can cause hypertension, kidney damage, decrease of calcium absorption, bloating, fatigue and increased risk for strokes and heart disease.
The recommended daily intake of sodium is 2,300 mg per day. A low sodium diet is considered between 400 – 1000 mg a day. A normal sodium diet is considered between 1500 – 2,300 per day and a high sodium diet between 2,500 and 4,000 mg per day. The average American diet contains over 3,500 mg per day, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control. According to experts, the damage of high sodium is accumulated and can have a long term, life threatening effect.
Even those of us who think we are eating well and are careful about our food choices, may not realize how much sodium is lurking in our foods. Processed, canned, jarred and frozen foods have high levels of sodium, as does most restaurant prepared meals and certainly “fast foods” where sodium and flavor enhancers are added for taste and texture.
Few of us realize that foods we eat every day are loaded with sodium. Examples are:
> one cup of cocoa has 950 mg of sodium in it
> a chicken fillet sandwich has 940 mg of sodium
> tomato ketchup has 1042 mg
> parmesan cheese 1862 mg
> processed cheese has 1189 mg
…. and the list goes on. The more processed the food, the more likely it is to contain high sodium levels.
Fresh fish, fruits, nuts, eggs, beans, meats and vegetables, on the other hand have low levels of sodium:
Fish – fresh
> Anchovy – 87 (3 oz portions)
> Bass – 58
> Catfish – 51
> Clams – 31
> Cod – 59
> Flounder – 66
> Lobster – 179
> Oysters – 62
> Salmon, Atlantic – 63
> Scallops, 217
> Shrimp – 119
> Sole – 66
> Trout, rainbow – 69
> Tuna, albacore – 34
Fruits – fresh
> Apple 1 medium – 0
> Apricots, 1 medium – negligible
> Asian pear – 0
> Avocados, 1/2 medium – 10
> Bananas, 1 medium – 1
> Blackberries – 0
> Blueberries, 1/2 cup – 4
> Cantaloupe, 1/8 of melon – 5
> Cherries, sweet – 0
> Cranberries, 1 cup – 1
> Grapefruit – 9
> Grapes, 1 cup – 2
> Oranges – 0
> Peaches – 0
> Pears – 0
> Pineapples, chopped, 1 cup – 2
> Plums – 0
> Raspberries – 0
> Strawberries, 1/2 cup – 1
> Tomatoes – 4
> Watermelon, cubed, 1 cup – 3
> Egg, whole, medium, 1 – 55
Meats and Poultry (3 oz raw, unprocessed) in mg
> Beef
> Liver – 62
> Porterhouse – 47
> Sirloin – 44
> Chicken breast – 58
> Duck, meat only – 64
> Turkey breast 51
Nuts, unsalted (1/4 cup) in mg
> Almonds, raw – 4
> Brazil nuts, raw – 1
> Cashews, dry roasted – 6
> Hazelnuts, raw – 1
> Macadamia, dry roasted – 2
> Peanuts, dry roasted – 6
> Pecans, raw – negligible
> Pistachio, dry roasted – 2
> Walnuts, raw – negligible
Beans 1/2 cup cooked
> Lentils – 13
> Kidney Beans – 2
> Lima beans – 3
> Navy beans – 1
> Split peas – 12
Vegetables, fresh (1/2 cup raw) in mg
> Acorn squash – 2
> Alfalfa sprouts – 1
> Artichoke – 1 medium, steamed – 79
> Asparagus – 1
> Beans, green – 3
> Beets – 49
> Bell peppers – 2
> Broccoli – 12
> Brussels sprouts – 11
> Butternut squash – 3
> Cabbage – 14
> Carrots – 20
> Cauliflower – 8
> Corn – 12
> Cucumbers – 1
> Eggplant – 2
> Lettuce – 2
> Mushrooms – 1
> Onions – 2
> Potatoes, medium, baked – 16
> Pumpkins – 1
> Spaghetti squash – 9
> Spinach – 22
> Sweet potatoes – 9
> Tomatoes – 4
> Watercress – 7
> Yams – 7
> Zucchini – 1
It is clear that, once again, the best foods to eat are fresh and unprocessed, which not only contains more nutrients, but contains much less sodium.
With all good wishes,
Georgianna
Copyright 2010 G. Donadio