By Donna Moodie, RD CDN CDE
The American Heart Association (on its website) has extensive research on the importance of lowering sodium intake. The American Heart Association, along with the World Health Organization, and thirty well respected nutritional scientists all signed the following consensus statement: “Population-wide reduction of sodium intake is an integral approach to reducing cardiovascular disease events and mortality in the United States.” The American Heart Association recommends that most Americans consume no more than 2300mg of sodium per day. The ideal amount of sodium, however, should be no more than 1500mg per day from all sources. (April 2017, sodiumbreakup.heart.org)
Lowering sodium intake can be a difficult task, especially if you start reading labels and realizing how much sodium you are taking in. Take-out foods, processed foods, and restaurant foods are all loaded with sodium. One way to reduce sodium intake is to eat whole foods in their natural state and avoid processed and overly seasoned foods. Using low-sodium, natural seasonings, herbs, and condiments in your cooking is an easy and delicious way to enhance the taste of foods without using the salt shaker.
Here is a simple list of suggestions to get you started:
- Try adding sautéed onion and garlic to soups, stews, omelets and sauces.
- Use herbs and spices to please your palate. Some spices can be lightly toasted in a little oil first to bring out the flavor (like cumin and turmeric.) Also, try fresh basil, parsley, cilantro, mint, oregano, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, curry and masala. You can sometimes find low sodium spice mixes like lemon pepper and Italian seasoning mix in supermarkets or spice stores.
- Using lemon juice, vinegar, and citrus juices can satisfy the taste buds while adding acidity and balance to a dish.
- Beer and wine added to soups and stews can lend a rich delicious flavor.
- Hot sauce is relatively low in sodium, and a little bit goes a long way. Hot sauce now comes in many different flavors, so try adding some to scrambled eggs, soups, or chili.
I personally like to make a condiment from Argentina called chimichurri. This sauce can be used on meats, fish, sandwiches, and salad dressings. Traditional chimichurri is made with parsley, but I also like to make it with cilantro. Here is a link to a chimichurri sauce recipe from the American Heart Association:
https://recipes.heart.org/recipes/1140/carne-asada-with-chimichurri-sauce
Bon appetit! For more information on lowering sodium intake, visit the American Heart Association at aha.org.
Donna Moodie is a Registered Dietician and Certified Diabetes Educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Program. She can be reached at dm258@cornell.edu