Reported by Dianna Shaffer
Dear Ms. Foodie:
QUESTION 8: Salt in Foods – My doctor warns me to watch my salt intake. RV prepared meals often taste too salty, especially with added sauces. How can I cut back on sodium?
ANSWER: “Salt” and “sodium” are often used interchangeably as terms for table salt. To be more precise, most table salts are mined and processed from the chemical compound Sodium Chloride (NaCl), consisting of 40% sodium and 60% chloride, forming white, crystalline cubes. It is the sodium portion of this compound that causes dietary concerns. To give perspective, 1 teaspoon of table salt, which is a combination of sodium and chloride, provides 2,325 mg of sodium.
No matter the name of the finished form of salt used, whether table salt, Kosher, sea salt, Himalayan, etc., most Americans consume on average 3,400 mg of sodium daily. Based on US Dept. of Agriculture website www.myplate.gov, a daily limit of 2,300 mg is recommended. The American Heart Association sets an even lower suggested limit of 1,500 mg.
Sodium is hard to avoid, so cutting back when ordering meals can be a challenge. Some nutritional information on RV Food and Beverage (F&B) entrees, sauces, dressings, and desserts is published on Touchtown under F&B 03 Nutritional Analysis, or view the RV Nutritional Analysis notebook in the RV Library.
Another suggestion is to identify all the sources of sodium in your everyday life. Read the Nutrition Facts Label displayed by law on all packaged food items in your refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards. Read labels when grocery shopping. This can be quite eye opening. Use this information to buy, prepare and choose healthier foods (not just with regard to sodium). As an example, when choosing a dinner meal, think back about what you have already consumed. If you ate high sodium foods at breakfast and lunch, choose a less salt-rich dinner entrée. Or use the Harvest to Go Menu. Learn how to use this creative approach by going to Touchtown under Resident Forum Notes, see “Resident Forum F&B Presentation (04/20).”
The human body is quite amazing and tries to maintain the optimum balance of fluids, nutrients, hormones, etc. to keep us healthy. When we consume excess sodium, the body tries to dilute the excess by holding water and increasing blood volume (and blood pressure) to push more liquid through blood vessels to be filtered by the kidneys. But years of excess sodium or imbalances in other nutrients stress our systems. Some sources estimate one in three Americans and half of all people over 60 have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke as well as kidney failure.
“We are what we eat” is an apt saying; and as aging seniors, our food intake greatly affects our health. It can feel overwhelming to plan meals at home or dissect and analyze the food offerings at F&B to make choices and spend a monthly food allowance. Ideally, RV would have a registered dietician on staff or as a consultant (as Madrona Grove has) and available to independent residents to provide guidance on meal planning for both residents and the restaurant. Perhaps this will happen if enough residents are interested and speak up.
Ms. Foodie urges all readers to work with a health care provider for guidelines on nutrition based on your specific health conditions, medications, activity level etc. For most of us this past year has been isolating, and medical visits may have been avoided. Perhaps now is a good time to schedule a checkup and routine blood work tests to guide toward healthier eating and lifestyle.