The sodium in your body plays a major role in fluid balance. While you need to consume some sodium in your diet to maintain the level of sodium in your body, too much dietary sodium can lead to increased blood pressure and fluid buildup, a condition called edema. If you have already have high blood pressure, heart disease or kidney disease, or are at an increased risk of heart disease, your doctor may recommend a sodium-restricted diet, which generally limits sodium intake to less than 2,000 mg per day.
Removing Salt
Table salt, or sodium chloride, contains 40 percent sodium. According to Medline Plus, 1 tsp. of table salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium. Because of this, removing salt from your diet is an important aspect of the sodium-restricted diet. Instead of using salt during cooking, experiment with fresh herbs and different types of sodium-free spices. Don't add salt to a dish before eating and make sure to ask waiters to remove the salt from your dishes when eating out.
Reading Labels
While salt contributes a large percentage of sodium in the diet, much of the sodium Americans consume comes from canned, packaged and processed foods. Manufacturers of these types of foods often add a lot of salt to the foods to preserve them and make them more shelf-stable. When deciding which packaged foods to buy, read labels. The University of Michigan Patient Food and Nutrition Services recommends avoiding foods that contain more than 400 mg of sodium per serving and limiting foods that contain 200 to 400 mg per serving. Look for packages that contain the words sodium-free or low sodium and choose snacks that are unsalted or do not contain added salt.
Foods to Choose
A healthy balance of foods is important on any type of diet. If you are on a sodium-restricted diet, it is important to choose different types of foods from all the food groups to make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need. Cleveland Clinic recommends 2 to 3 servings of protein, 2 or more servings of dairy, 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables and 6 or more servings of grains. You should limit your intake of sweets, snacks, oils and condiments, even if you are using low sodium varieties. You may use lemon juice, vinegar, herbs and sodium-free spices freely.
Considerations
Because sodium is found in such a wide variety of foods, it can be difficult to follow a sodium-restricted diet. Cleveland Clinic recommends spreading your sodium intake out throughout the course of the day so that you do not consume too much sodium at one time and end up exceeding your limits. For a 2,000 mg of sodium per day diet, it may be beneficial to consume 500 mg at breakfast, 600 mg at lunch and dinner and two 150 mg snacks in between meals.
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