Read food labels for low sodium and high potassium

They say we are what we eat. If this is the case then shouldn’t we scruntinise every thing we ingest very closely. Yes, knoweldge of nutrients is cruicial for making right food choices which gives our lives a good balance and an energetic and vibrant start to our day. The topic for dicussion here is the importance of potassium in our diet versus reduction of sodium. Sodium is something we eat too much as it is in salt or sodium chloride. Sodium is associated with high blood pressure, a number one reasons for heart problems, stroke and other cardio vascular diseases. Not only this but sodium also minimises the effectivity of blood pressure medications
This knowledge was an eye opener for me being a lover of salt. So when ever possible I aviod thsi white poison called salt. Also most of our sodium comes from sources like fast foods, restaurant foods, take out, canned and packaged foods as also condiments like ketchup, soy sauce, beef sauce.  Sodium is also present in salty foods like pretzels, smoked seafood and meats, frozen dinners and chips. It is also hidden in bread and bakery products, as well as soups and sauces that may not taste salty! I noticed breads have sodium content written in bold in its packaging.

Apart from avioding salt and processed food, there are other ways to maximise potassioum and reduce sodium:
Eat fresh: Fruits like banana, apple, papaya are rich sources of potassium and are an easy way to reduce sodium.
Use condiments: Ginger, curry, cumin, pepper, dill, garlic, onions, rosemary and thyme are an easy way to add flavour to food without adding salt.
Make your own sauces and dressings: Store bouight sauces and dressings are high in sodium so we can benefit highly by making home made tomato sauce, salsa, etc. For example half cup of canned tomato sauce can have about 470mg of sodium but making your own reduces our intake to only 25 mg. One table spoon of balsamic vinegar has about 250 mg but your own homemade oil and balsamic vinegar can have none.
Rinse: Wash canned vegetables or fish thoroughly with cold water. This can considerably reduce sodium intake.
Read food labels: Seemingly healthy food like tomato soup or cottage cheese can contain as much as 430 mg to 700 mg of sodium. So it makes sense to read food labels and make conscious decisions about the sodium intake and compare and choose low sodium products.
Adequate intakes of sodium per day:
1,500 mg for people aged 9-50
1,300 mg for people aged 50-70
1,200 mg for seniors over 70 years of age

Another interesting fact is

• 1 level teaspoon of salt contains just over 6 grams of salt.
• 6 grams of salt contains about 2,300 mg of sodium approximately double of our recommened intake.

Some of the facts presented here have been borrowed from sodium101.ca website.