Low sodium diet guidelinesAdequate sodium intake for a low sodium diet per age group:If you are like most people, you need to watch your sodium intake and adhere to a low sodium diet. Sodium, which comes mainly from salt, is essential to health, but most of us get much more than we need. The National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine (IOM), which advises the government about recommended levels of nutrients, have defined a range of daily sodium intakes with 1,500 mg deemed adequate for good health (less for older people). Unfortunately, more than 75% of sodium comes from processed and restaurant foods, so reducing intake to the 1,500 mg level requires making almost all meals at home, from scratch. Even the 2,300 mg upper limit isn’t easy to maintain with a low sodium diet. Visit our low sodium diet tips and hints page to help you. Sodium makes the body hold on to fluid. To pump the added fluid, the heart has to work harder. Too much salt can worsen symptoms like swelling and shortness of breath and cause weight gain. For many people, ingesting too much sodium could lead to high blood pressure – a serious risk factor in heart disease and stroke. Some studies suggest a link between high sodium intake and other diseases, such as stomach cancer and the worsening of asthma. And because sodium increases the excretion of calcium into the urine, it could increase bone loss and the risk of kidney stones. A low sodium diet is certainly worth a try if you have blood pressure above the optimal limit for normal, 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), or risk factors for hypertension. For other people, moderate sodium restriction is a more realistic goal. Evidence for the revised IOM recommendations comes from the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study, which found that cutting sodium to 1,500 mg lowers nearly everyone’s blood pressure. Although the effect was slight in those with normal blood pressure, the low sodium diet reduced systolic blood pressure (the upper number) by 3 to 7 mm Hg in those with high blood pressure or risk factors for it. Those factors include being older or black, having a family history of high blood pressure, or having high-normal blood pressure. The benefits of sodium restriction in a low sodium diet were especially striking when combined with the DASH diet – a diet high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low fat dairy products. Those who consumed the least sodium along with the DASH diet dropped their systolic pressure by an average of 11.5 mg Hg. For people with normal blood pressure and no risk factors, the more modest goal of 2,300 mg achievable by adopting the DASH low sodium diet alone, would presumably help fight the upward creep in pressure that tends to occur with age. Because some people respond dramatically to sodium, even those with high blood pressure don’t necessarily have to make it all the way down to 1,500 mg to see a meaningful decline, although the less sodium consumed, the lower the blood pressure will likely go. |