What's the Deal with SODIUM?

Last night on ABC.com, a study was announced about the infamous food product: SALT.

According to the study, excessive salt consumption was linked to nearly 2.3 million cardiovascular deaths worldwide in 2010.

That's a lot of people.

Even worse, that means that 1 in 10 Americans die from too much sodium in their diet.

Now, this is only one study, so until more comes out, this cannot be taken too literally. BUT, the idea that salt can cause this much fatality is incredulous! It's almost saying that not only is sugar a silent killer, but so is salt.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans already has about 1/2 of the population in America on a low sodium diet. They say healthy Americans should not consume more than 2300 mg/day, but if you are over the age of 50, have any disease, or are African American, one should not consume more than 1500 mg/day.

With food being so processed these days, it seems as if it is almost impossible to not eat at least 1500 mg of sodium per day!

So how do we combat this?

First of all, we eat less processed foods. Focus on incorporating whole foods into your snacks and meals. Rather than reaching for a protein bar, vegetables and hummus provide you with more nutrients and is less likely to have added sodium..

Also, we read nutrition labels. Food companies are allowed to be 20% off on those labels! Read them carefully, and ALWAYS TACK ON 20% MORE!

Finally, we exercise. Salt is sodium and chloride: two elements our bodies use as electrolytes. When we sweat, we get rid of those electrolytes. If you do eat a lot of salt one day, do some high intensity cardio so that you can sweat some of it out. *JUST NOTE YOU WON'T SWEAT IT ALL OUT, AND YOU NEED TO REPLENISH YOUR BODY AFTERWARDS*

Let's eat healthy everyone!

Love always,
Jo