A diet high in sodium can leave you at an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and various other medical conditions. Increased awareness of salt intake is happening around the world as people learn that they can get healthier by reducing the amount of sodium in their diets. While working in the healthcare industry, you might notice more patients asking for advice about low-sodium diets because those patients want to get healthy.
Cutting your daily sodium in half can reduce your risk of stroke or heart attack. While you might think that limiting your salt intake by passing up the salt shaker is enough, you'll find that many processed foods are high in sodium. Frozen foods, junk foods, and even some canned foods contain sodium, but you can learn what to avoid by simply reading the nutrition label on the package. One of the top healthcare trends in recent years involved people eating out less and dining on fewer packaged foods. Cooking from scratch can help you limit your salt intake because you have more control over what goes into your food.
According to The Star Press, a healthy diet consists of 2,400 milligrams or less of sodium per day. The average amount of sodium that most Americans eat on an average day is more than twice that amount. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention helped launch World Salt Awareness Week as a way to show Americans the dangers of a high-salt diet. The Stoke Foundation of New Zealand Inc. and several other organizations around the country advertised the event in the hopes of helping people of all ages limit their daily salt intake.
Limiting your salt intake isn't difficult. Most packaged foods now let shoppers know whether the package is low sodium, sodium free, reduced sodium, light sodium, or no salt added. Low sodium foods contain 140 milligrams or less of sodium, while very low sodium foods contain less than five milligrams of sodium. No salt added and unsalted foods may still contain a low level of sodium, but this is generally the amount found in the food itself. For example, you might find no salt added canned beans that still have a small amount of salt due to the natural sodium found in the beans. While working in the healthcare industry, you'll probably come across healthcare trends such as reduced-salt diets as patients learn more about eating healthy.
A high-salt diet leaves you at risk for heart attacks, strokes, and other medical conditions. Reducing your salt intake today can help you lower those risks. Once you cut down on the amount of sodium that you eat every day, you'll find that it's easier to talk with your patients, offer suggestions on their diets, and help them to lead healthier lives.
(Photo courtesy of zole4 / freedigitalphotos.net)
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