Pass On the Salt

Monday, February 13, 2006

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Sodium: A little is good but too much increases the risk of health problems.

Sodium, a main component of salt, is essential to your body's functioning. It helps transmit nerve impulses, makes your muscles work and maintains the proper balance of body fluids.

For people who are sodium sensitive or have hypertension, reducing sodium intake can lead to markedly beneficial health effects. But even if you don't have high blood pressure, limiting sodium as part of a healthy diet may decrease your risk of developing blood pressure problems and heart disease.

Your taste for salt is both acquired and reversible. As you use less salt, your preference for it will lessen. The February issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource offers ways to control sodium intake.

* Eat more fresh foods and fewer processed foods. Fresh foods are naturally low in sodium. Most sodium in the average American's diet — 77 percent — comes from eating processed and prepared foods such as preserved meats, canned foods, frozen foods and commercial baked goods.

* Shop for products low in sodium. A low-sodium product contains 140 milligrams or less of sodium per serving — 5 percent or less of the recommended daily sodium intake.

* Limit use of sodium-rich condiments. About 11 percent of the sodium in the average diet comes from adding salt or condiments — ketchup, mustard, salad dressing, soy sauces —to foods while cooking or eating.

* Use herbs and spices for added flavor. To enhance vegetables, try parsley, basil, chives, ginger, cumin, oregano or lemon. For meats, add bay leaves, peppercorns, ginger, rosemary, sage or even cranberries.
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About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the patient come first." More than 3,700 physicians, scientists and researchers, and 50,100 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has campuses in Rochester, Minn; Jacksonville, Fla; and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz.; and community-based providers in more than 70 locations in southern Minnesota., western Wisconsin and northeast Iowa. These locations treat more than half a million people each year. To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. For information about research and education, visit www.mayo.edu. MayoClinic.com (www.mayoclinic.com) is available as a resource for your health stories.