Sodium is one of those things we tend to rely on things too much because it adds flavor. I enjoy it myself and after a family member developed a health issue I decided to reduce my salt intake as well through a low sodium diet. This may not be for everyone since some people may need more sodium than others so talk to you doctor first. My grandfather worked in a steel mill and they gave him salt tablets since he worked in such a hot environment. So sometimes you don’t get enough sodium given the processed foods we tend to eat is rather rare.
Even small changes could help you more that you think. Just reducing it could help with blood pressure, improve cardiovascular health, make the medications you take work better, reduce risks to certain diseases like kidney stones, and osteoporosis.
This could help reduce the loss of calcium from your bones. Lowering sodium can help with your bone density. It’s really important to stay on top of this one, especially if you are a woman. You want to address that as early as possible so to avoid future problems.
You could also reduce the chance of liver disease since fluid can accumulate in our abdomen. This is why lowering your sodium intake can reduce the pressure on blood vessels and make a big difference. Having too much fluid accumulating there can affect your heart in the same way too.
In addition, diabetes you usually think sugar as in you’re eating too much of it. Now that could be the case too. But I was surprised to find that lowering sodium can actually lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity.
I’m not saying cut out the sodium all together. That would be really hard to do in any case. We get sodium in the foods we eat all the time. You could look for low sodium foods. Even rinsing the canned vegetables should remove some of the sodium. You can look for low sodium foods but I haven’t seen much in the store myself. Watch out for sodium levels in processed sauces or dressings. You can always make you own low sodium versions.
Furthermore, eating fresh fruits and vegetables is the best thing to do if you can.
Remember you can still cook with sodium just try reducing it a bit can help. For example, I bake bread a lot and I found just cutting the salt in my bread in half didn’t impact the taste at all. Making homemade pizza it is helpful if you remember to use less salt in the crust because the flavor can be offset by the cheese you use anyway.
For me what I found was salt was a habit. A huge mistake I made was adding without thinking to food before even tasting it. Just by having a little discipline on salting things and being mindful on how much salt is needed can help you cut back. Rely more on herbs and spices, salt-free ones of course.
Just check with your doctor first though, especially if you have chronic heath condition. After all, a low sodium diet could be the key for better health.
