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[getbig250]

Sodium (aka Salt) Facts
Salt is the common name for sodium chloride. The nutrition facts panels on packaged foods use the word sodium so you may not have been aware that salt is actually listed as sodium. Dietary sodium is measured in milligrams (mg). One teaspoon of salt contains 2,400 mg of sodium. There are 1,000 mg in a gram (g). 2,400 mg of sodium equals 2.4 g. Don’t be fooled. Sea salt, Kosher salt, and other designer salts contain the same amount of sodium as ordinary table salt. We need sodium in our diet to be alive, but very little, and we already get it from our protein foods, which all contain some sodium. Some Health experts claim 220 mg to 500 mg per day is more than sufficient. Keep a food diary, so I can review it everyday. Look for food patterns in your food diary. Try to pinpoint when you crave salt. Knowing your tendencies is useful to know so we are better prepared to handle them in the future. Packaged foods are required to have a nutrition panel on the label. Always read food labels and do the math. The sodium content on the nutrition panel is based on the number of servings the package states. Example: a can of soup may say 770 mg of sodium but bases that number on 2.5 servings. 770 x 2.5 = 1,925 mg of sodium in that can of soup. Also pay attention to the serving size that correlates to the nutrition panel numbers. Using the same soup example, 770 mg of sodium is based on the food company's declaration that one serving size is one half of a cup. (Seriously, who eats only 1/2 cup of soup?) Read the list of ingredients on packaged foods, not just the nutrition panel, for sodium-containing compounds such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Look for sodium in words, such as monoSODIUM glutamate (MSG). Sodium is prevalent in most processed foods. Health experts claim at least 75% of the salt we eat is hidden in packaged food. Simply claiming you don’t use salt, meaning you don’t sprinkle it on your food, is living in denial. Don't concern yourself with the sodium content of 100% natural foods, as these foods are fresh and unprocessed, the sodium content is very low. (fresh vegetables, potatoes, fresh oats, plain rice) No matter how much food labels help you choose low sodium foods, understand that the best foods are the natural ones that have no labels. For example, a potato or sweet potato in the produce section won't have a nutrition label. But, if it did, it would say "very low sodium," "a good source of potassium," "cholesterol free," and "99% fat free."

Salt Free Cooking Tips
Cook from scratch. Know the sodium content in each of the ingredients used to prepare a meal or snack. Be very wary of “heart healthy” and other good for you type claims on food packages. These foods may offer benefits addressing other health issues. But, in most cases, the sodium content is very high. Even many of the low sodium versions of packaged foods are still very high. Always read the sodium content and serving size on the package. Use a kitchen scale. Calculate the weight of food to determine the sodium count. As an example, a skinless chicken breast has approximately 12 - 20 mg of sodium per ounce.
Your chicken breast weighs 4 ounces = approximately 50-70 mg of sodium. You'll love having a scale.
Throw away your salt shaker.
Use fresh poultry, fish, and lean meat, rather than canned or processed types. Natural steaks like London Broil and Ground London Broil or 96% fat free hamburger are all low in sodium and usually contain three to five times more potassium than sodium. Once meats are processed into things like hot dogs, sausage, and smoked, cured, and deli meats, they are loaded with salt. AND their all important potassium-to-sodium ratio is totally reversed. Avoid chicken or turkey that is "prebasted." or "soaked in a sodium solution" for longer preservation (Walmart and many other stores do this). They always have extra salt added to it. It is usually injected with solutions that contain not only refined salt, but also things like partially hydrogenated oil, artificial flavor, and sodium containing preservatives. Always purchase fresh, unprocessed chicken and turkey. Also avoid pre-marinated chicken or turkey cutlets. Salt is almost always one of the marinade's top ingredients.
Saltwater fish have only slightly more sodium than freshwater fish, but both are low in sodium. Avoid breaded fish or chicken fillets or cutlets, unless you personally make the bread crumbs by toasting the No Salt Ezekiel Bread and then blending them into bread crumbs with a blender or food processor. The breading used to coat the fish is high in salt. Choose fresh or frozen vegetables over canned vegetables unless the canned vegetables have no salt added. If you must use canned vegetables, choose the "no salt added" varieties. Do not try to get more vegetables into your diet by drinking vegetable juice cocktail. Hidden in V-8 type drinks, drinks that sound so healthy, is 600+ milligrams of sodium in a tiny little six ounce serving. Bloody Mary mixes have twice as much or more! You can easily make your own chili, taco, and meat loaf mixes without adding sodium. As your Ultra Fit personal trainer, I can e-mail or give you some great and tasty low sodium recipes!
Use low sodium cookbooks and Ultra Fit recipes. You may find it easier to adapt to the healthy, Ultra Fit way of eating by using new recipes. Search for low sodium foods on the Internet. When you find new products of interest, check to find where they are available in your area and then bring me the ingredients and nutritional value or e-mail them to me for review and approval. Using the Internet as a tool to search for low sodium foods to make your grocery list makes it easier. You can easily e-mail the information to me and I can then give you approval if the food or ingredient is permissible. Then write down the food product, the name of the manufacturer, and the sodium content of each item. This is so much easier and less frustrating than standing in the grocery aisle reading labels on hundreds of choices trying to determine which one has the lowest sodium content. Mainstream grocery stores are not yet convinced they need low sodium products on their shelves. Talk to your store manager and tell them you need more low sodium food choices. Add more fresh vegetables to your meals, which are low in sodium. Worth Repeating: Cook from scratch! Ultra Fit food in its natural state has enough sodium to give you what your body requires.

Recognize which foods are high in sodium and take control of what you eat. Totally avoid processed foods where salt is used to excess. Convenience foods may be convenient, but are laden with sodium. By convenient I mean, if the food is packaged in a box or can or is easy to eat or quick to prepare, it probably has too much salt. Avoid frozen one step meals like frozen dinners, appetizers, and pizza...They are NOT Ultra Fit friendly and should be avoided completely. In my opinion, Fat Free actually means “Way Too Much Salt.” Any label on a package that claims their food is fat free should be required to state, “We took the fat out. Now our food has no taste, so we poured in extra salt to give it flavor!” The following foods have a lot of salt in them: canned soups, chili, salad dressings, pasta sauces, gravies, broths, sauces and marinades. Many brands of canned soup and chili have more sodium in each can than you should consume in an entire day. I . An interesting fact: The Latin root of the word sauce is salt. Any packaged food that comes with a sauce, such as frozen vegetables in butter sauce, always has too much sodium. Eliminate flavored rice or pasta. If you open the package and there is a seasoning packet inside, it is a good bet that the sodium content is very high. Pay attention to the sodium content of your favorite condiments, particularly meat tenderizer, steak sauce, soy sauce, salsa, and ketchup. Replace with Hunt's or Heinz No Salt Ketchup and No Salt Enrico's Salsa and No Salt Enrico's Spaghetti sauces. Avoid gravy and seasoning mixes in those foil lined pouches. Avoid ham, bacon, sausage, and lunch meat. Every form of cheese contains a high sodium and high fat content. Bread and baked goods have a high sodium content. Never use self-rising flour. It has salt and leavening agents added to it, a process that creates an outrageously high sodium product. Avoid using this product. Avoid salty snack foods such as pretzels, potato chips, salted nuts, olives, and pickles. These terms indicate high sodium content: pickled, smoked, marinated, teriyaki, soy sauce, broth, au jus. Cut out sodium rich medicines such as the antacids Alka-Seltzer and Bromo-Seltzer. A two tablet dose of Alka-Seltzer contains 995 milligrams of sodium while Bromo-Seltzer contains 761 milligrams in just one tablet. These two "medicines" contain more sodium to your diet than many processed foods. There are no good choices at fast food restaurants. Ordering a salad may appear to be the healthy choice, but most salad dressings contain an exorbitant amount of sodium.

[Anabolic Beast]

My wife and I avoid eating processed foods preferring to prepare and cook our meals from scratch. When we eat out, we prefer sushi or steak with no seasoning added and a baked potato or yam and a plain garden salad. All that said, I don't believe a moderate sodium intake is all that bad and add salt to my diet on purpose. The body is an incredible thing, and will always strive to reach a state of homeostasis. If you establish and maintain a base line for sodium, the body will adjust to that baseline to reach homeostasis.

[DECADOG]

NEVER NEVER NEVER will I give up using salt.....not that i use a ton of it. Being a chef, I prepare everything from scratch so it has never been an issue...If you eat a balanced diet, there ie nothing wrong with salt, unless your predisposed to having high blood pressure and a history of heart disease in the family..

[ItalianMuscle]

If you eat a balanced diet, there ie nothing wrong with salt, unless your predisposed to having high blood pressure and a history of heart disease in the family..

I completely agree with this. I carb cycled for the first time this past summer, and I salted as much as I wanted. I lost weight, and was extremely lean while running this type of diet. Nothing wrong with using salt in my opinion..

[getbig250]

The post was just to educate those who dont know........

[DECADOG]

BUMP !!