If you think salt and sodium are the same, you are not correct. But guess what, you are not the only one as this misconception confuses a lot of people. How do we then know the difference between salt and sodium or even any similarities? Well, simply put, sodium is what’s found in food, especially in processed food containing preservatives while salt is what we add to our food.
Salt, also known as sodium chloride, is about 40% sodium and 60% chloride. Salt flavors food and is used as a binder and stabilizer. It is also a food preservative, as bacteria can’t thrive in the presence of a high amount of salt.
The human body requires a small amount of sodium to conduct nerve impulses, contract and relax muscles, and maintain the proper balance of water and minerals. But too much sodium in the diet can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. So in actuality, it’s the sodium that’s really detrimental to your health
Sodium in the Diet
Sodium occurs naturally in foods like celery, beets, and milk. It’s also added to many packaged foods during manufacturing, often in amounts that are considered much too high.
High-sodium products include processed meats, canned soups, salad dressings, and soy sauce. Surprisingly, some foods that don’t taste salty can still be high in sodium, which is why using taste alone is not an accurate way to judge a food’s sodium content. For example, while some foods that are high in sodium (like pickles and soy sauce) taste salty, there are also many foods (like cereals and pastries) that contain sodium but don’t taste salty. Also, some foods that you may eat several times a day (such as breads) can add up to a lot of sodium over the course of a day, even though an individual serving may not be high in sodium.
In fact, most of the sodium we take in comes from eating packaged, processed, and restaurant foods, not from the salt we add to food when cooking or eating at the dinner table which we can taste.
So let’s look at the potential hazards of excess sodium and any benefit consuming it may have.
In most people, the kidneys have trouble keeping up with excess sodium in the blood. As sodium accumulates, the body holds onto water to dilute the sodium. This increases both the amount of fluid surrounding cells and the volume of blood in the bloodstream. Increased blood volume means more work for the heart and more pressure on blood vessels. Over time, the extra work and pressure can stiffen blood vessels, leading to high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. It can also lead to heart failure. There is some evidence that too much salt can be bad for bones, too. This is because the amount of calcium that your body loses via urination increases with the amount of salt you eat. If calcium is in short supply in the blood, it can leach out of bones.
A deficiency of sodium is rare because it is commonly added to a wide variety of foods and occurs naturally in some foods. Hyponatremia is the term used to describe abnormally low amounts of sodium in the blood. This occurs mainly in older adults, particularly those living in long-term care facilities or hospitals who take medications or have health conditions that deplete the body of sodium, leading to hyponatremia. Excess vomiting, diarrhea, and sweating can also cause hyponatremia if salt is lost in these fluids that are expelled from the body. Sometimes too much fluid abnormally collecting in the body can lead to hyponatremia, which might stem from diseases such as heart failure or liver cirrhosis. In rare cases, simply drinking too much fluid can lead to hyponatremia if the kidneys cannot excrete the excess water. Symptoms of hyponatremia can include: nausea, vomiting, headaches, altered mental state/confusion, lethargy, seizures, coma.
To get the right amount of sodium daily, you have to NOTE the Dietary Guidelines recommends adults limit sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg per day which is equal to about 1 teaspoon of table salt. For children under age 14, recommended limits are even lower.
So how do you reduce sodium consumption?
Here are some tips to help achieve the recommended daily intake of sodium and to not exceed it.
- Read the Nutrition Facts label
Compare and choose foods to get less than 100% DV (less than 2,300 mg) of sodium each day.
- Prepare your own food when you can
Limit packaged sauces, mixes, and “instant” products (including flavored rice, instant noodles, and ready-made pasta).
- Add flavor without adding sodium
Limit the amount of table salt you add to foods when cooking, baking, or at the table. Try no-salt seasoning blends and herbs and spices instead of salt to add flavor to your food. For example, ginger, garlic, cloves, etc.
- Buy fresh
Choose fresh meat, poultry, and seafood, rather than processed varieties. Buy fresh, frozen (no sauce or seasoning), or low sodium or no-salt-added canned vegetables.
- Give sodium the “rinse”
Rinse sodium-containing canned foods, such as beans, tuna, and vegetables before eating, this removes some of the sodium.
- “Unsalt” your snacks
Choose low sodium or no-salt-added nuts, seeds, and snack products (such as chips and pretzels), or have carrot or celery sticks instead.
- Consider your condiments
Sodium in condiments can add up. Choose light or reduced sodium condiments, add oil and vinegar to salads rather than bottled dressings, and use only a small amount of seasoning from flavoring packets instead of the entire packet.
- Make lower-sodium choices when eating out
Ask for your meal to be prepared without table salt and request that sauces and salad dressings be served “on the side,” then use less of them. You can also ask if nutrition information is available and then choose options that are lower in sodium
To be fully conscious of the amount of salt safe to consume, you can consult with your Doctor or a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.
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