Sodium, Sodium, Everywhere

08-16-2003, 07:18 AM

Well since we have the sugar thread I'm going to post a thread on sodium becuase it's the same thing only worse for people like myself who are on a low sodium diet. Me, because of high blood pressure

One of my pet peeves is that even fresh frozen foods like chicken breasts and vegetables have added sodium. Must be in the brine that they soak the stuff in before freezing it for preservative purposes.

The only way to get around it is to buy fresh chicken and vegetables. I even noticed the other day some fresh looking chicken tender (breast) strips had sodium added to them. Yikes.

I'm slowly learning ways to prepare foods without sodium and have bought 3 cookbooks also. One of my favorites right now is Tabasco. It's only got 30 mg per tsp of sodium and it's a natural metabolism enhancer and appetite suppressant. The Tabasco Chipoltle sauce is wonderful and has a bit more sodium at 115 mg per tsp but a splash on chicken or fish and YUM!

Being on a low sodium diet does not mean NO SODIUM, it just means cut it way back. For me that means a minimum of 500 mg and not more than 1500. My online food diary I use tracks my sodium intake for me as I record my meals.

When I grocery shop I have to shop around the outside portions of the store for fresh items and avoid (mostly) the processed and prepared convenience foods in the aisles that are loaded with sodium. There is a fruit stand nearby that I get fresh vegetables and fruit and and it's pretty cheap there. I would say my overall food bill has not gone up since I switched my diet over.

Finally I will say it's easier to find and eat low fat foods and meals than it is to eat low sodium. It's like nobody cares about us.

08-16-2003, 01:41 PM

Hi Zapster,
I totally agree with you. I am sick of the all the additives and the only reason for them is to cover up the poor flavor of a product or to be able to leave the item on the shelf for at least a century. It is no wonder to me that most people have weight problems or are sick with everything from allergies to diabetes and heart disease.
I have been fortunate enough to find one store in my area that does carry a good variety of organic, low sodium, sugarless products. This store also has meat that does not have antibiotics or hormones.
I really don’t know what to do about all the additives in the food products. I try not to buy them, but considering they have a better shelf life that I do it probably has little impact on the industry. Who knows, maybe someday the food industry will be sued like the tobacco companies.
I appreciate your tip on Tabasco and I’ll being using it in the future.

Sodium, Sodium, Everywhere

Sign Up Today!

Join Our Newsletter

Whoops,

Thank You