Why is salt important?

Salt (sodium chloride, or NaCl), along with potassium, is very important in helping your body maintain a proper fluid balance. Salt allows your body to take in fresh fluids, eliminate fluid waste through your urine, and still stay in fluid balance. Fluid balance is important for many body functions, including maintaining blood pressure, avoiding dehydration, and keeping the kidneys healthy.

Too much salt, however, can cause health problems. It can cause you to retain water, resulting in uncomfortable swelling of the hands, feet, and sometimes abdomen.

A serious problem related to too much salt is high blood pressure. High blood pressure increases your risk for heart disease and strokes. Approximately one third of people with high blood pressure in the United States are especially salt sensitive. This means that if they eat too much salt, it will cause or worsen high blood pressure.

What is the recommended amount of salt?

The National Academy of Sciences, Food, and Nutrition Board recommends a daily sodium intake of 1100 to 3300 milligrams (mg) for healthy adults. However, the average American diet contains 3000 to 7000 mg of sodium per day.

How do I decrease the salt in my diet?

You can take several steps to decrease the salt in your diet:

• Stop adding salt to food at the table. Sometimes you can use other spices or salt substitutes that do not contain sodium.

• Use little or no salt during food preparation and cooking. Use other spices instead of salt.

• Read the labels on all canned, boxed, or frozen foods to see how much salt they contain. Many soups, frozen dinners, and other convenience foods contain high levels of sodium.

• Check the sodium content in snack foods, especially the ones that taste salty but even those that aren't obviously salty.

• Don't use of a lot of sauces and condiments on foods.

Examples of sodium content in common foods:

 
   Food                       Sodium Content 
   -----------------------------------------
   apple                          1+1/2 mg 
   banana                             1 mg 
   broccoli, 2/3 cup                 10 mg 
   catsup, 1 T                      200 mg 
   carrots, two                      50 mg 
   cheddar cheese, 1/4 lb           700 mg 
   chicken, broiled, 1/4 lb          70 mg 
   chicken, Burger King Broiler     480 mg 
   dill pickle, 1 medium            900 mg 
   egg, two                         270 mg 
   hamburger, Burger King           570 mg 
   hamburger, Burger King Whopper   870 mg 
   margarine, 1 T                   120 mg 
   milk, 2%, 8 oz                   120 mg 
   mustard, 1 tsp                    65 mg 
   olives, green, 10                940 mg 
   salt, 1 tsp                     1938 mg 
   Worcestershire sauce, 1 T        206 mg 

If you are on medication or have any medical conditions, be sure to check with your health care provider before changing your diet.

If you would like to have a more complete list of the sodium content of common American foods, write:

Superintendent of Documents
US Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402

Ask for the USDA booklet titled 'The Sodium Content of Your Food,' Home and Garden Bulletin #233.