You need sodium for absorption of food nutrients, and to maintain the balance of fluid and minerals. Too much sodium, though, can be unhealthy. A high sodium intake has been linked to increased blood pressure and risk of heart disease and stroke.
Reduce the amount of salt in your food and the amount added at the table as part of a heart-healthy diet. The American Heart Association recommends eating less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day for healthy persons, and less for individuals with heart problems.
Identification
Your doctor may prescribe an individualized cardiac diet if you have a history of heart problems, or if you are at risk of cardiovascular disease. Cardiac diets limit sodium to reduce these health risks. Your healthy eating plan helps provide needed nutrition while limiting risk of high blood pressure, obesity and other cardiovascular risk factors. A cardiac diet emphasizes healthy fats, including the polyunsaturated fats in leafy green vegetables, fish, nuts and seeds, as well as monounsaturated fats found in dairy products, olives and avocados. These help lower your LDL, or "bad" cholesterol.
Restrictions
Your cardiac diet will limit consumption of trans fat and saturated fat. Foods that are high in these fats increase the level of LDL cholesterol, a heart disease risk factor, and decrease the level of HDL, or "good" cholesterol. The consumption of high in sodium foods will also be restricted. These include table salt; processed foods, especially canned goods; fast foods; frozen foods; snack chips; and lunch meat. Portion sizes are also restricted to encourage weight loss.
Function
Limiting sodium decreases the risk of high blood pressure, which decreases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Americans, on average, consume more than 3,000 mg of sodium per day, which is more than twice the amount recommended for lowering high blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association.
Significance
According to the American Heart Association, randomized controlled trials have shown that dietary habits affect established cardiovascular risk factors such as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels, blood glucose levels and obesity, as well as associated conditions like cardiac arrhythmia, triglyceride levels and heart rate.
Considerations
Lower your intake of sodium by selecting fresh or frozen foods with no added salt. Choose unsalted nuts or seeds. Do not add salt at the table, and choose spices and herbs instead of salt to flavor your food. When dining out, ask your waiter to specify "hold the salt" when ordering your food. The majority of salt consumed by Americans comes from sodium added by manufacturers of processed foods.
Check nutrition labels for the number of milligrams of sodium and percentage of daily value, and read ingredient labels looking for salt, sodium, soda or the chemical symbol "Na," which stands for sodium. Some medications, including over-the-counter drugs, also contain high amounts of sodium.
