Excess sodium can hinder your health, are you in tune with your intake?
I pay attention to my sodium intake—religiously, and I was always shocked when I would talk to clients or friends about it & they wouldn't have a single clue how much sodium they were having each day. But monitoring your sodium intake is important, so you should really consider tracking it.
Our bodies require salt & it's necessary for our diets, but too much sodium isn't good for us. It can be damaging to our health and diet. A surplus of sodium can raise blood pressure, cause you to carry extra fat in the tum-tum area, and leave you feeling bloated and swollen.
Nobody wants that.
Where to watch:
PROCESSED FOOD.
Yet another reason to limit processed food. A lot of these foods that make for convenient on-the-go snacks are stupid high in sodium. So, before grabbing your go-to snack mix, READ THE LABEL!
Become Salt-Savvy with these tips:
Tip #1. Go for low-sodium.
I ALWAYS stress this. With my clients, family members, myself, everyone! *as long as there's no medical or diet restrictions*.
This goes for all your canned foods, breads, condiments, etc. Canned veggies, peanut butter, cooking broths, allllll of it. Grab the low or reduced-sodium option—this can drastically reduce your overall daily sodium intake. Smart and simple!
Tip #2. Monitor & limit your daily consumption.
The recommended daily amount of sodium for us is no more than 2300mg. You can find that stat pretty much anywhere courtesy of your Google search bar. There's even more and more studies suggesting that we should aim for no more than 1500mg sodium per day. Personally, I keep my sodium intake under 1500mg.
Because many of us don't think about our sodium intake, it's extremely common for us to be consuming way more than we would even guess.
Try to pay attention to how much sodium you're taking in on a typical day...even track it and write it down, and see where you stand with this. If you're one for feeling bloated...and feeling that way on the reg., this could be a reason why!
So, check your labels.
...And; a little hot tip: if you're reading a label and you see that the product has a higher sodium count than it does calories, strongly consider putting it right back on the shelf where ya found it.
Tip #3. HYDRATE.HYDRATE.HYDRATE.
Drink your water! It helps flush out excess toxins and any extra salt.
So, bottoms up!
Tip #4. Exercise.
Always a great tip—but what's important about exercise in this case, is to SWEAT.
Like hydrating, sweating is a way to flush out excess salt, too.
So, if you have the ability, try to sweat at least 4-5 times a week for 30 minutes or more.
YOU.CAN.DO.IT. & you won't regret it!
Tip #5. Spice up your life.
Try making mindful efforts to hold off on grabbing the salt shaker at lunch or dinner.
Flavor your meals in other ways using spices and fresh herbs. Salt-free spices and seasonings can be found everywhere...get your hands on those!
I hope you find these tips helpful and if you have no clue what your sodium intake is on a typical day, that you track it for a day to see where you stand. Keep in mind that we DO need some salt...we just don't want to overdo it. Consider it like a personality...we like a little saltiness, but no one likes someone that's super salty.
Comment with any questions/thoughts or tips of your own!
xo Mackenzie.
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