Low Sodium??

What constitutes low sodium?


It depends on whether you’re asking what constitutes a low-sodium food or a low-sodium diet.

A low-sodium food follows these guidelines:

Low sodium = 140 mg or less per serving
No sodium = less than 5 mg per serving

(there are, of course, other ways a food can be labeled with respect to salt/sodium - which is regulated by the FDA)

A low-sodium diet - based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 (which can be found on my Good Resource list) - is 1,500mg or less a day, and is recommended for those persons who are 51 and older and those of any age who are African American or have hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease...

By the way, this recommendation applies to about half of the U.S. population, including children, and the majority of adults (since virtually all Americans consume more sodium than they need, with the estimated average intake of sodium for all Americans ages 2 years and older being approximately 3,400 mg per day).

If you fall into any of the categories above, or want to cut your sodium intake to prevent [potential] disease, here’s a list of lower sodium alternatives in each food category to get you started......