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List of Foods That Are Low in Sodium

Kalpana Kumari
If you want to stay healthy and keep high blood pressure at bay, you should have food that is low in sodium. There are many food items that have a low sodium content. This story provides a list of the same.
There are three electrolytes found in a human body. These are potassium, chloride, and sodium. Being an electrolyte, sodium is highly essential for sound health and survival. It serves many vital functions in your body. To mention a few, it controls the entry and exit of fluids in body cells. It regulates blood pressure, blood volume, nerve impulses, muscle contraction, and acid base balance of blood, and other fluids of the body.
It also assists in the transmission of nerve impulses. Thus, sodium is highly essential for life. You need to have it in optimum amounts in your daily diet. The recommended intake for a healthy adult is 2,400 milligrams. Consuming it more than the recommended amount opens ways to numerous health issues.

Health Issues with High Sodium Level in Blood

Many people consume sodium, more than what is recommended. Higher sodium levels in the body gives rise to numerous health issues. Excess of it causes more fluid in the blood. This leads to increased volume of blood. The heart beats faster in order to move the blood through the body. Faster heart activity results in chronic high blood pressure.
This further leads to several types of kidney and heart diseases. Some of the undesirable medical conditions caused due to this are stroke, gastric cancer, edema, left ventricular hypertrophy, osteoporosis, and heart failure. Lastly, sodium can cause significant water retention in the body, resulting in increased body weight and size.

High Sodium Foods to Avoid

Following is a list of food products that you must avoid if you are suffering from the problem of high sodium level. Avoiding or restricting the intake of given foods will also help you in foreclosing the health issues occurring from high levels of sodium in the blood. Here's more on foods high in sodium.
  • Most fast foods such as pizza and cheese burger
  • Processed meats like sausages, ham,hot dog, salami, corned meat, etc.
  • Most snacks such as potato chips, corn chips and pretzels
  • Canned vegetables
  • Canned vegetable juice
  • Dehydrated or packet foods such as instant pasta or soups
  • Salted nuts
  • Salted butter
  • Salted margarine
  • Cornflakes

List of Low Sodium Foods

Dieting on sodium free foods is practically impossible and never recommended. Therefore, if you wish to lead a healthy life, and enjoy different flavors of food at the same time, you should make meals from the low salt foods suggested below.
  • Fresh or frozen beef, lamb, pork, veal, poultry, and fish
  • Eggs and its substitutes
  • Water packed tuna and salmon
  • Unsalted nuts
  • Dry peas and beans
  • Nut butter
  • Ice cream
  • Sour cream
  • Skimmed milk
  • Yogurt
  • Cream
  • Non-dairy creamers
  • Spices without added sodium or salt
  • Vinegar
  • Cream of tartar
  • Ketchup
  • Jams and jellies
  • Yeast
  • Mustard
  • Fresh horseradish
  • Tabasco sauce
  • Baking powder
  • Baking soda
  • Cooking oils like olive oil
  • Mayonnaise
  • Unsalted butter
  • All fruits and their juice
  • Salad dressing
  • Fresh or frozen vegetables, without any added salt
  • Salt-free canned vegetables
  • Tomato sauces
  • Cereals prepared without added salt or sodium
  • Bread
  • Bagels
  • English muffins
  • Crackers
  • Unsalted popcorn
By going through this story, you must have learned how important it is to maintain the level of nutrients in your body. Even small fluctuations can give rise to numerous life-threatening disorders over time.