The Hyposodic diet Or low sodium levels is focused on trying to reduce salt levels through different types of foods and changing eating habits.
It is well known by all that salt gives that genuine touch that many dishes lack, but it is also true that this is not very beneficial, especially if it exceeds the recommended daily amount.
In many cases, our body says enough and we need to lower the amount of salt that food carries with it, or directly add it personally. The consequences can be fatal in many cases, even reaching the heart attack.
Salt is a mineral that contains high levels of sodium . This chemical element can be as harmful as beneficial to our body.
Sodium levels directly influence our blood pressure or our cardiac capacity. The higher levels we present in our body, the more our blood pressure will increase and the more risks we will suffer from some form of heart failure.
When do these situations usually occur? As long as our body exceeds the ingested salt limits our body is able to withstand. Each body tolerates different levels of sodium and there are no exact figures, but it is usually sought not to exceed 2,300-2500 milligrams per day.
How to limit salt in our body
As we mentioned earlier, our body can regulate and limit sodium levels in our body. This can be achieved through a series of foods to be taken into account, so that we find a balanced diet, where the Vegetables and fruits .
In contrast, different canned foods show high levels of salt, such as anchovies or tuna in olive oil. Sauces also play a harmful role in this type of diet, as do processed products such as chips or salty crackers and derivatives.
Next we will go to detail the different foods that contain higher and lower percentages of salt, and therefore of sodium for our organism.
Foods to follow the hyposodic diet
Vegetables
We can choose different types of fresh vegetables such as spinach or broccoli without leaving behind frozen ones, although that is, provided they do not contain any sauce to seasoning.
We can also ingest different types of vegetable juices, and as always, that their ingredients contain minimum levels of salt.
Fruits
The Bananas , Apples or Oranges Are the ideal complement to a hyposodic diet. To these we can add many others, whether fresh, frozen or canned, provided they are in water or their own juice and never in syrup.
Cereals, pulses and nuts
In this group we find different types of rice and pasta next to the oatmeal without sugar.
If we talk about the vegetables , the Beans Are the clear example of what can be eaten, while nuts to accompany never come bad as long as they do not carry salt.
meats
Fresh meats, such as fish and seafood along with chicken and turkey, are the most commonly used type of meat within a diet of such characteristics.
We can also add, with care and knowing that they can present higher levels of salt, meats from the pig or even beef.
Dairy products
Skim milk, along with Yogurt Low in fat, can be easily food extrapolated to our day to day.
On the other hand, these two types of food provide us with high levels of magnesium, which serves to improve and regulate our blood pressure, and as a consequence, benefit the levels of sodium presented in our body.
Oils and condiments
In the latter section we find margarine and unsalted butter and different Oils such as olive oil , Canola or sesame.
Vinegar is also accepted within the diet.
You can also make an exception with mayonnaise, provided it is low in fat and tomato (also as sauce) whenever we can find it under the label"no salt added."
Drinks
In this section we can easily reduce the set of drinks to the water intake.
Negative foods for the hyposodic diet
Frozen Vegetables
You have to be careful with the different frozen vegetables that we can find. You can ingest it, but always taking care of the salt levels you may get to present.
Unnatural fruits and berries
Glazed fruits, nuts or the olives themselves are not apt to seek to reduce our sodium levels in the body.
Non-whole grains and legumes with added
Breads, such as cookies, or industrial bulk cereals are harmful to hypoglycemic diets.
There are strictly forbidden combinations of the type sauces accompanied by condiments for rice and pasta, besides adding salt to the boiling casserole.
As for food of the type beans, potatoes or peas, we must forget to add companions of the type ham or bacon. It is also important to avoid vacuum canning of this type of food.
Salted meats
The salted or canned meats are those that contain the most salt content. It goes without saying that frozen meats, such as pizza ingredients or hot dog sausages, are strictly forbidden.
Dairy products with salt
Chocolates, melted spreads and cured cheeses, come within the forbidden framework for dairy products with butter.
Oils and seasonings rich in salt
Within the family of oils and condiments, we find foods harmful to be rich in salt for salad dressings, butters and margarine with salt or directly any type of sauce.
Carbonated drinks
It is advisable to avoid at all times any carbonated drink with sodium, drinks with alcohol or water softened.
Desserts
It would be convenient to avoid industrial bakery products, and keep an eye on those of bakeries or artisans.
Salt amounts in different everyday foods
meats
- Bacon - 1 medium piece - 155 mg
- Chicken - 100 grams - 87 mg
- Fried egg - 1 serving - 77 mg
- Scrambled eggs with milk - 1 serving - 171 mg
- Beans, peas or lentils - 1 cup - 4 mg
- Haddock - 85 grams - 74 mg
- Hypoglossal - 3 ounces - 59 mg
- Roasted Ham - 100 grams - from 1300 to 1500 mg
- Hamburger - 100 grams - 77 mg
- Hot dog - 1 serving - 585 mg
- Peanuts - 30 grams - 228 mg
- Pork loin - 100 grams - 65 mg
- Salmon - 85 grams - 50 mg
- Seafood - 85 grams - from 100 to 325 mg
- Shrimp - 85 grams - 190 mg
- Pork ribs - 100 grams - 93 mg
- Tuna - 100 grams - 300 mg
Dairy products
- American cheese - 30 grams - 443 mg
- Butter - 1 cup - 260 mg
- Cheddar cheese - 30 grams - 175 mg
- Cottage cheese - 1 cup - 918 mg
- Swiss cheese - 30 grams - 75 mg
- Whole milk - 1 cup - 120 mg
- Skim milk - 1 cup - 125 mg
- Natural yogurt - 1 cup - 115 mg
Vegetables and vegetable juices
- Asparagus - 6 lances - 10 mg
- Avocado - half serving - 10 mg
- White beans - 1 cup - 4 mg
- Green Beans - 1 cup - 4 mg
- Beetroot - 1 cup - 84 mg
- Raw broccoli - half cup - 12 mg
- Broccoli cooked - half cup - 20 mg
- Raw carrot - half ration - 25 mg
- Cooked carrot - half serving - 52 mg
- Celery - 1 stalk - 35 mg
- Sweet corn - half cup - 14 mg
- Cucumber - half a cup sliced - 1 mg
- Raw eggplant - 1 cup - 2 mg
- Cooked eggplant - 1 cup - 4 mg
- Lettuce - 1 leaf - 2 mg
- Beans - 1 cup - 5 mg
- Raw or cooked mushrooms - 1/2 cup - 1-2 mg
- Chopped or chopped onion - 1/2 cup - 2-3 mg
- Chicharos - 1 cup - 4 mg
- Baked potato - 1 serving - 7 mg
- Radishes 11 mg
- Raw spinach - half cup - 22 mg
- Cooked spinach - half cup - 22 mg
- Pumpkin - half cup - 4 mg
- Potato - 1 serving - 12 mg
- Tomato - 1 medium - 11 mg
- Canned tomato juice - three quarts cup - 660 mg
Fruits and fruit juices
- Apple - 1 serving - 1 mg
- Apple juice - 1 cup - 7 mg
- Apricots - 3 medium - 1 mg
- Dry apricot - 10 halves - 3 mg
- Banana - 1 medium - 1 mg
- Cantaloupe - half cup - 14 mg
- Grapes - 1 cup - 2 mg
- Grape juice - 1 cup - 7 mg
- Grapefruit - medium - 0 mg
- Orange - 1 medium - 2 mg
- Orange juice - 1 cup - 2 mg
- Peach - 1 serving - 0 mg
- Prunes and dried - 10 mg
- Raisins - one-third cup - 6 mg
- Strawberries - 1 cup - 2 mg
- Watermelon - 1 cup - 3 mg
Breads and cereals
- Bran flakes - three quarts cup - 220 mg
- Whole wheat bread - 1 slice - 159 mg
- White bread - 1 slice - 123 mg
- Hamburger Bread - 1 serving - 241 mg
- Cooked cereal - 1 serving - 250 mg
- Cornflakes - 1 cup - 290 mg
- English muffin - half cup - 290 mg
- Crepe - one serving - 431 mg
- White long grain rice - 1 cup - 4 mg
- Crushed wheat - 1 cookie - 0 mg
- Spaghetti - 1 cup - 7 mg
- Waffle - 1 serving - 235 mg
Canned food
- Canned Soup - 1 cup - 600 to 1300 mg
- Prepared, Canned, or Frozen Foods - 8 ounces - 500 to 2570 mg
Equivalences between salt and sodium
Then we leave the percentages of sodium equivalent to different amounts of salt. This is quite important when taking into account how much salt we can or will ingest in our diet.
- 1/4 teaspoon salt = 600 mg sodium
- 1/2 teaspoon salt = 1200 mg sodium
- 3/4 teaspoon salt = 1800 mg sodium
- 1 teaspoon of salt = 2300 mg of sodium
Hyposodic diet example
We leave you with a couple of menus based on foods low in salt and, therefore, in sodium so that you can apply them to your daily life:
Menu 1
- BREAKFAST: Infusion of herbs of choice (preferably chamomile) with sweetener or only next to 1 glass of skim milk with cinnamon and 2 toasts of bread integral without toasted salt with honey.
- MEDIA TOMORROW: 1 apple or seasonal fruit.
- LUNCH: 1 cup homemade vegetable broth with steamed vegetables without salt with a dash of olive oil and basil or oregano and lean meat or chicken breast with unsalted herbs with 2 slices of unsalted bread plus 1 pear.
- SNACK: 1 skimmed yogurt.
- MERIENDA: infusion of herbs (mint, linden, piperine, green, red, etc...) with sweetener or alone and 1 slice of bread without salt with a piece of cheese without salt.
- DINNER: Homemade vegetables broth with 100 grams of boiled rice without salt with oil (a small jet) and half grilled breast with garlic and garlic (without salt and oregano) with 1 banana.
Menu 2
- BREAKFAST: Coffee with milk with toast bread with butter, unsalted margarine or extra virgin olive oil with 1 slice of fresh cheese.
- MEDIA TOMORROW: Fruit.
- LUNCH: Macaroni with tomato sauce and onion. Grilled veal. Lettuce, tomato, cucumber and radish salad. Bread. Fruit.
- SNACK: 1 skim yogurt.
- DINNER: Vegetables with 1 potato with grilled hake. Accompany with lettuce, some bread and a piece of fruit.
Tips
At the moment we decide to cook any type of pasta or rice, we must forget to add the pinch of salt that is usually poured.
Cooking food by steam, iron, oven or roast reduces the amount of salt in food.
In salads, vinegar works as an excellent flavor enhancer, thus avoiding having to spray that handful of salt to our food.
At the time of cooking, we can substitute the salt for different types of flavorings like herbs, lemon, ground pepper or even natural garlic or powder.
Although it may seem silly, antacids and pharmacy laxatives may also play a key role in introducing salt into our body. That is why it is convenient to consult an expert on which have the lowest levels.
If you look carefully, when making the purchase find different foods marked under the label"low sodium"or directly"without salt". Undoubtedly, this is a signage that will improve to know what to choose.