John Woodward, MD gynecologist joins me this week on Healthy by Nature as does his son, Hugh. We’ll talk about the master hormone DHEA. Without enough of it we lose energy, physical prowess, muscle tone, mental sharpness, libido, sleep quality and overall health. Call in your question to 1(800)281-8255. Also, we talk with dentist Allen Sprinkle about the news on fluoride and mercury.

THE GENERAL IDEA

[Note: Italicized words in brackets like this are my thoughts, not the original quote]
Overview: As we discussed in last week’s newsletter, the FDA and USDA have both sounded an alarm about Americans eating too much salt and thereby adding to their risk of high blood pressure and other chronic conditions. The agencies recommend a daily maximum of 2,300 milligrams [Abbreviated “mg”. This is about 1 teaspoon) for young healthy people and 1,500 mg for “anyone 51 years of age and older, those of any age who are African American and/ or have hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease.” Gee, doesn’t that cover most of us? On average we’re eating at least twice as much as a healthy person should.
The FDA’s general guidance is to:

• “Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables [most have zero sodium]
• Consume foods that are rich in potassium. Potassium can help blunt the effects of sodium on blood pressure. The recommended intake of potassium for adolescents and adults is 4,700 mg/day. Potassium-rich foods include leafy, green vegetables and fruits from vines. [Potassium is currently only listed on a few labels.]
• Flavor food with pepper and other herbs and spices instead of salt. [Watch next week’s newsletter for info on this aspect.]
• Choose unsalted snacks. [At least I waited until after the Super Bowl to tell you that.]
• Read food labels and choose foods low in sodium.” [This is where the adventure starts.]

I’d add these general thoughts:

• Almost every bite (except fresh fruits and vegetables) has some sodium and it all adds up—even if you eat it standing over the sink.
• In general, when the label says “Lite” that might mean reduced calories, fat or sugar—not necessarily less sodium. For example, those small “Lite” yogurts contain 120mg of sodium.
• Low-fat products may actually be higher in sodium. Since fat carries flavor, there is a tendency to make up for its absence with salt and/or sugar.
• Sodium isn’t just listed in the ingredients as “salt” but also as baking soda, soy sauce (920mg per Tbsp), sodium chloride, etc. So, check the “sodium” entry on the Nutrition Facts panel. (See an example below.*)
• Watch for portion size trickery. For example, a bag of microwave popcorn assumes that you will only eat a one-cup portion and 410mg sodium (the whole bag which would be 1,230). Golden Grahams cereal delivers 270mg of sodium. That already seems a little high for a breakfast cereal, but that is based on just ¾ of a cup—never mind that the typical cereal bowl easily holds twice that.
• Over the decades sodium content has gradually increased in the American diet and we are used to it. Under pressure from regulators, restaurants and manufacturers are beginning to reduce sodium, but very gradually because it is a long process to retrain our salt-jaded taste buds. Meanwhile, we must learn where the excess salt is hiding and control it ourselves.

WHERE’S THE SODIUM?

What’s the real problem? Recently Bill and I were enjoying a Sunday buffet brunch at a fine Mexican restaurant. The food was very flavorful and judging from how thirsty we were when we got home, the food must have been plenty salty. None the less, we watched a heavy set senior fellow just going to town with a salt shaker on every plateful. Many people never salt their food, but are still getting way too much sodium. According to the FDA, salt added at the table or even while cooking contributes only 5 to 10 percent of the total. Salt that occurs naturally in foods accounts for another 10 percent. The bulk, 75 percent, comes from salt added to foods by manufacturers and restaurants.

Restaurants: There is good news and bad news about restaurant food. The bad news is that almost all of them salt foods heavily. The good news is that in restaurants where the food isn’t wrapped and waiting for you, it is possible to request that your food not be salted. Also, increasingly we can find the nutritional breakdown of chain restaurant menus as a flier in the restaurant or online. That allows us to choose lower sodium items.

• For example, at Macaroni Grill, you can select Spaghetti & Meatballs w/ Bolognese sauce at 3,040 mg of sodium (oops, twice your allowance for the whole day if you are trying to hit the 1,500 goal) or Grilled Salmon at 610.
• A McDonald’s Angus Bacon and Cheese sandwich contains 2070mg of sodium compared to a Quarter Pounder with 730. But, adding cheese to the QP, that boosts the total to 1190. What about McDonald’s salads? A Premium Southwest Salad has only 150mg of sodium. But add chicken (810mg), croutons (140mg) and the low fat Italian dressing (730mg) and your low sodium salad now has a whopping 1830mg of sodium—more than a Big Mac at 1040mg. (Of course, there are other factors. E.g. the salad certainly has more potassium.) It is easy enough to skip the croutons and there are other dressing choices with half the sodium. Half the package of dressing might be enough. The added chicken is most of the sodium increase because it is apparently seasoned. What else would you use for protein at McD’s? (Perhaps a hamburger patty and throw away the bun?)
• Speaking of chicken, at KFC, an original recipe chicken breast has 1080mg of sodium. Peel off the skin and breading and the meat has only 580mg. I say “only” for comparison but a chicken breast you would cook at home without adding salt would contain only 92mg of sodium. (Salt is obviously one of the 11 secret herbs and spices in the Colonel’s marinade.)

Eating at home: Does the national average of 4,600mg/ just reflect people eating out? Nope. You can see below how easily you could consume more than that at home without picking up the salt shaker. These are common grocery store selections but we really have to read labels at the health food store too. Although natural foods are generally more nutritious, they aren’t necessarily low sodium.

WOW. But, what if you added 3 slices of bacon to breakfast (575mg), had a bowl of soup at lunch rather than a cup (890mg more) and couldn’t resist an extra biscuit at dinner (+570mg)? You would have consumed a total of 7,737mg-that’s 3 ½ days worth of sodium for a healthy person or 5 days plus for someone with high blood pressure.

For any one type of food item (even convenience foods) there are often choices where the sodium is either ghastly high, medium, low or even zero. Follow this link to a page I created showing comparisons.

Next week I’ll review seasoning options and the pros and cons of various brands of salt. Do you know people who need this information? Please forward the newsletter to them.

* This is a real bread label.

My first book : Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec & Other Acid Blockers. Subtitle: What to Use to Relieve Acid Reflux, Heartburn, and Gastric Ailments.

My latest book : Aloe Vera-Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy

Copyright 2011 Martie Whittekin, CCN