Friday, May 14, 2010

Sodium: the health world's dirty little secret

I woke up, and ran. I used to run three to five miles everyday, but I stopped when I got really busy with graduate school. I'm amazed at how quickly it comes back. I've very proud of my four miles today:


I made a Smoothie for breakfast. I ate it after my run, and drank lots of water. Lunch and dinner were nothing new, and I'm finding myself in an eating rut. What I've found most interesting in all of these healthy articles and artifacts that focus on healthy living, there is a hidden secret that no one talks about: SODIUM!

Sodium is an important part of our diets. It helps muscle, nerves, pH balance, and hydration. A "normal" sodium intake is about 2300 mg (close to 1 tsp) per day. We gain a lot of sodium in processed foods. I found this when I was looking at restaurant "healthy options" at On The Border because I went there the other night. A healthy suggestion was the Chicken Salsa Fresca. It is 520 calories, not bad, 9 g fat, looking pretty good, 2410 mg of sodium, wait what!! That's more sodium than a suggested daily intake. Sodium can cause high blood pressure, but it can also cause calcium to be lost, and in extreme cases lead to osteoporosis. Imagine eating out a lot, and thinking you're eating healthy, but instead if you eat a meal like this twice a day, you're doubling your sodium intake everyday. Even if you eat one meal out, you will be going over your daily intake of sodium. That doesn't seem like a really hard thing to do considering the amount of time people eat out. I tend to salt things, and I blame it on my mother. She is also a salter. But reading this and gaining this knowledge has made me think twice about the "healthy" options at restaurants, but also think before I salt my food.

Beware of that dirty little word: Sodium.

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