Nutrition Tidbit of the Week:

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences recommends most individuals limit their sodium intake to 2,400 milligrams/day. Your diet may be over that amount, EVEN if you NEVER add salt.
Approximately ¾ of the sodium in your diet is NOT from salt added from the salt shaker. A bowl of soup can be over 1,000 milligrams of sodium! Table salt is 40% sodium (as the technical name is sodium chloride), but sodium in other forms can also be found in the diet. Sometimes foods are high in sodium and they don’t even taste salty! For example, baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. A medium biscuit can have over 500 milligrams of sodium.
Discuss with your health care provider the level of sodium that is healthy for you. Some individuals with problems such as high blood pressure or congestive heart failure may need to consume less sodium than is recommended for the average person. For other individuals, sodium may not be an important concern in the diet.

Next week Dr. Irene’s Nutrition Tidbits will focus on nutrition and blood pressure

Ask Dr. Irene: Answers to your food & nutrition questions.


Question: The nutrition label in the United States on a box of buttery crackers lists sodium 200 mg and 8%. How to you interpret this?

Answer: The label lists the nutrient content PER SERVING. In this case, 5 crackers is 200 milligrams (mg). The percent is a “% Daily Value”. Since milligrams don’t mean a lot to many people, the % Daily Value is trying to put the nutrient content into the perspective of the goal for the day in a typical 2,000 calorie diet. In this case, the Daily Goal for sodium is 2,400 mg and eating 5 crackers represents 8% of this goal. That’s not bad providing you don’t eat the box! The box contains 24 “servings”, which would be almost two days worth of sodium!

Question: Can you give examples of foods naturally low in sodium and foods high in sodium?

All fresh fruits and fresh vegetables are naturally low in sodium. Even vegetables with a “reputation” for being high in sodium, such as celery, don’t deserve a bad rap. A whole stalk only contains 50 mgs and how much celery can you eat! Fresh or unprocessed beef, turkey, chicken and fish are also naturally low in sodium. One cup of milk has only about 130 mgs. of sodium but processed dairy products, such as cheese can vary a great deal in their sodium content. Check the nutrition label if you need more information.

Examples of “hidden” sources of sodium.

Food/Portion:    Sodium Content (on average)
Pickles: 4 inch    900 mgs
Cheese: American, 2oz.    800 mgs
Ham: 3 ounces    1,000 mgs.
Soy sauce 2 Tablespoons    1,500 mgs.
Soup: canned, 1 cup    700-1,000 mgs.
Tuna, canned in water: 3 oz.    450 mgs
(tip: rinse your tuna with water to reduce the sodium content)