July 5, 2017 | Category: Bariatric Surgery, Blog, News

 

Shake the salt habit.

Did you know the average American consumes more than 3,400 mg of sodium daily? That’s a little more than 1.5 teaspoons of salt! The recommendation from the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is less than 2,300 mg a day. For persons who are age 51 and older, African American, or have hypertension, diabetes, or kidney disease, it is recommended that you aim to eat less than 1,500 mg of sodium a day. In addition to reducing the amount of salt you add to your food, limit your consumption of processed foods and restaurant meals since they make up about 75% of your total daily sodium intake.  Purchase foods that are labeled “no salt added”, “reduced sodium”, or “low sodium”. They will still contain some sodium but not as much as the regular processed food. Preparing fresh foods at home is your best choice to reduce sodium.