How Much Sodium is Too Much?

JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK (April 3, 2018) -- Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County’s EFNEP Program would like to share information on sodium and its effects on the body. Sodium is a mineral that is essential for life. It’s regulated in the body by your kidneys, and it helps control your body’s fluid balance. It also helps send nerve impulses and affects muscle function. As much as sodium is vital for bodily function, it can also have detrimental effects if too much is consumed over a period of time.

What is High Blood Pressure?

When there is extra sodium in your bloodstream, it pulls water into your blood vessels, increasing the total amount (volume) of blood inside your blood vessels. With more blood flowing through your blood vessels, blood pressure increases. Over time, high blood pressure may overstretch or injure the blood vessel walls and speed the build-up of plaque that can block blood flow. The added pressure then tires out the heart by forcing it to work harder to pump blood through the body.

How much do we need?

According to the American Heart Association, 1500mg of sodium per day is ideal for heart health. That equals about ¾ of a teaspoon of salt per day! Most people consume about 3,400 milligrams of sodium a day — more than twice the sodium intake recommended by the American Heart Association. It’s easy to understand why. Sodium can be sneaky. It sneaks into soups and sandwiches and cozies up to cold cuts and cured meats. It plants itself in your favorite pizza and poultry and burrows into breads and rolls.

Even if you don’t have high blood pressure, eating less sodium can help blunt the rise in blood pressure that occurs with age, and reduce your risk of heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, osteoporosis, stomach cancer and even headaches.

What You Can Do!

Start by tracking your sodium with the sodium tracker from the American Heart Association website. It’s an easy way to keep tabs on how much sodium you’re getting in your diet. Just jot down what you eat — that blueberry muffin for breakfast, or the garlic bread with last night’s spaghetti — and the accompanying sodium stats. Remember: Sodium levels vary in the same foods depending on the brand or restaurant.

At the end of the day it’s easy to tally how much sodium you consumed, so you can make better choices if needed. Sometimes a small adjustment can bring big results when it comes to your health! The American Heart Association has lots of resources to help you stay on track.

More tips:

Don’t forget to check the nutrition labels on prepared and packaged foods, because up to 75 percent of the sodium we consume is hidden in processed foods. Watch for the words “soda” and “sodium” and the symbol “Na” on labels, which mean sodium compounds are present.

If you’re going to eat pizza, try a cheese-less pizza with cooked, chicken strips and lots of veggies.

Use fresh, skinless poultry that isn’t enhanced with sodium solution instead of fried or processed chicken.

When choosing soup, try lower-sodium varieties.

Make your sandwiches with lower-sodium meats and low-fat, low sodium cheeses, and try not to pile on the condiments.

Choose foods with potassium to counter the effects of sodium. It may help lower your blood pressure.

For more information visit www.heart.org.

The EFNEP Program is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE-Chautauqua). CCE-Chautauqua is a subordinate governmental agency with an educational mission that operates under a form of organization and administration approved by Cornell University as agent for the State of New York. It is tax-exempt under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The association is part of the national cooperative extension system, an educational partnership between County, State, and Federal governments. As New York’s land grant university Cornell administers the system in this state. Each Cornell Cooperative Extension association is an independent employer that is governed by an elected Board of Directors with general oversight from Cornell. All associations work to meet the needs of the counties in which they are located as well as state and national goals. For more information, call 716-664-9502 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Last updated April 3, 2018