Salt and How It Affects The Body:
Managing your daily sodium intake is important. With an increase in highly processed foods, salt intake has increased to a level as much as 50% higher than recommended for adults. The American Heart Association recommends 1500 mg for adults 50 and older and 2300 mg of sodium for adults 50 and younger. Unfortunately the average American consumes more than 3400 mg of sodium on average.
So, how does salt reek havoc on your body? Salt is made of sodium and chloride. Sodium naturally draws water to itself. When you more sodium than your kidneys can process is taken in, sodium builds up and passes into your blood stream. Once in the bloodstream, the sodium does what it does best. It attracts water from the body to itself. Then, the extra fluids in the blood stream cause the heart and blood vessels to work harder than usual to pump blood through the body. This causes high blood pressure and can lead to heart disease, stroke, and more.
How is a Managing Your Sodium Intake Beneficial
As you can see there are many reasons to avoid salt. However, sodium is necessary for optimal functioning and you should not eliminate it totally. But you only need about 200 mg per day. And since sodium occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables and proteins you could potentially get what you need without adding any salt at all to your meals. However, food with out salt can be flavorless. Salt, after all is a natural flavor enhancer. Depending on the amounts used, salt can either reduce or suppress flavors. So, used in the right concentrations, salt can take a bland, boring meal to an adventure for your mouth!
So, how do you balance your daily sodium intake and stay within your recommended allowances without sacrificing flavor? Well, you can carefully read and track all nutritional labels or you can put your trust in Optimize U! Based on a standard 3 meals per day, we’ve formulated our breakfast meals to be no more than 25% of your daily allowance. For mid day and evening meals, we’ve formulated recipes to contain no more than 33% of your daily allowance. So, if you purchase breakfast, lunch and dinner you will stay within the daily allowance of 2300 mg.
For a low sodium alternative to salt check out our Creole Seasoning. It’s low sodium, contains no MSG, it’s heart healthy, and diabetic friendly. Check it out here:
