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Editor’s Note: We regret to inform our readers that Doug MacGowan, our esteemed blogger, has experienced a decline in his health and was recently admitted to the emergency room. With the gracious permission of his family, we will continue to publish Doug’s insightful and educational articles on heart failure. Our thoughts are with Doug and his family during this challenging time.
Almost all patients diagnosed with Heart Failure (HF) get placed on a low-sodium diet.
Most people are familiar with low-calorie, low-carb and gluten-free diets. Few are aware of the limits of sodium in diets and the problems therein.
The FDA states that most Americans consume an average of 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day, but they should limit their intake to less than 2,300mg—the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt! That’s “teaspoon,” not “tablespoon,” or anything higher. Patients with HF are restricted to 1,500 to 2,000 milligrams, which can be quite a challenge.
The first enemy of low-sodium diets is grocery stores. Sauces and canned foods, frozen foods and processed foods tend to be chock full of sodium. One single slice of frozen pizza is about 725mg (33% of your daily allowance)! A serving of boxed mac and cheese is about 580mg (and a “serving” is usually just 1/2 a cup). A vegetarian frozen burrito, which you think would be “healthy,” is about 620mg. Sandwiches and foods from the deli counter also tend to have sodium-packed processed meats, cheese and pickled veggies.
A person in senior management in a grocery store said that low-sodium and no-sodium foods are harder to keep fresh and “The waste factor is high unless you have a special clientele. Beyond that, you just don’t have a lot of customers in that market, period. The key to getting people to buy food is finding the perfect elixir of salt, fat and sugar. That’s why McDonald’s succeeded.”
Fast food is out, by the way, for HF patients. The sodium in a Jumbo Jack is 910mg. And who would have one without fries?
So what does one do? One can eat those foods above just in moderation if you count the sodium. I make low-sodium chili, nachos, and pasta sauce. Luckily, there are sites on the Internet that specialize in selling low-sodium and zero-sodium foods.
Restaurants are another problem. They depend on salt for flavoring and so most have sauces/gravies and cheeses and processed meats that need to be avoided. I order meals and ask them to hold the cheese and some meats (grilled chicken tends to be OK) and ask them to not cook the food with extra salt.
Don’t get me wrong. The body needs a certain amount of sodium every day to maintain body fluids and muscle and nerve operation. But check labels. Do the math of milligram content and serving size. When eating out, don’t be shy—ask for substitutions or deletions.
Take control. Your body will thank you for it!
Douglas MacGowan has lived in Redwood City for 24 years and has been a part-time freelance writer since 1994, when his first article was published. Over the years, he has written books and articles about 19th-century British history and abnormal psychology. His latest book, “The Irish Sky,” is a picture book about Irish mythology he published with his sister.
He has blogged for Pulse previously and is happy to be back!
It’s always good to raise our awareness of salt intake. We’ve used low sodium soy sauce (and even low sodium spam!) without missing the original version. Sometimes I eyeball the pickles but my better self has me walk away.