Low salt diets focuses on controlling the amount of sodium ingested to avoid excessive water retention. These diets are often used in the treating high blood pressure and other types of heart, kidney and liver diseases. They are also used when taking certain prescription drugs that cause the body to hold fluids. The low salt diet is used by people with diseases that affect the fluid balance in their body or where a decrease in body fluid retention will relieve symptoms of the disease. If you have high blood pressure or kidney problems, your physician may recommend a low salt diet.

Living with a restricted low salt diet is not difficult. It will take time to get used to eating foods with their natural flavours. A sprinkling of lemon juice or vinegar helps a lot in making the food tastier.

Here are some guidelines to help you start your low salt diet. Leave the saltshaker in the cupboard and omit salt in recipes and food preparation. If you can’t cook without salt, use only tiny amounts. Try flavouring foods with herbs and spices instead. Take time to marinate meat or poultry ahead of time with onions or garlic before cooking to bring out the flavours.

Many stores today offer a wide variety of low-salt products. But, always read food labels carefully to determine the amounts of sodium. Learn to recognize ingredients that contain sodium such as soy sauce and salt brine. Also avoid any ingredient with the word “sodium” such as in monosodium glutamate. Rinsing canned vegetables will remove much of the salt. Choose products that use the terms lightly salted, low sodium, reduced sodium, sodium free, unsalted, no salt added, without salt added or very low sodium to describe the sodium content.

Essentially, while on a low salt diet you want to replace the products containing high sodium content with products containing low amounts of sodium.

People on a low salt diet may find that eating out is not easy. Words that signal high sodium content are smoked, barbecued, pickled, broth, soy sauce, teriyaki, Creole sauce, marinated, tomato base and Parmesan.

The numbers below are useful to anyone on a low salt diet. Ingesting less than 2000 mg/day requires considerable effort. Count 1/4 teaspoon as 500 milligrams for an easy way of figuring out your sodium intake.

Normal salt diet... 1100 - 3300 mg/day Low salt diet... 400 - 1000 mg/day.
The truth is our bodies need sodium to help us regulate blood pressure and blood volume as sodium assists in keeping our muscles and nerves in top shape. But as in all things, moderation is the ultimate key. Reducing salt in your diet by adopting a low salt diet is a great idea.

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Information on this site is provided for informational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or dietitian. Information and statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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