sodium « WordPress.com Tag Feed

For Blood-Pressure Concerns, Slash Salt and Pump Up Potassium

Amanda MacMillan — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:00:18 +0000

I like to think of high blood pressure as the Rodney Dangerfield of heart conditions: Regardless of how dangerous it really is, it gets no respect. More than one in three adults has high blood pressure (and at some point in our lives, 9 out of 10 of us will have it), but Americans just don't seem too concerned.

Maybe that's because a large proportion of those with the disease—and yes, it is a disease—don't even know they have it. A heart attack, if they're lucky enough to survive it, will scare people silly, clean up their diets, and reform their lifestyles. But for some reason, high blood pressure remains a sneaky, silent killer.

Take charge now, before it's too late
High blood pressure, aka hypertension, needs to be taken seriously. As we age, our pressure naturally creeps up—so keeping it as low as possible while you're young and able is key. Why's that? "High blood pressure is linked to 62% of strokes and 50% of all cardiovascular events," notes Frank Sachs, MD, professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at the Harvard School of Public Health. "The lower your blood pressure, the lower your risk for coronary heart disease and stroke."

The good news, however, is that for most of us, our blood pressure is directly linked to our weight, eating habits, and level of exercise—and these are all things we have the power to change. Losing weight is still considered the most effective way to lower blood pressure, but you should also pay attention to two nutrients in your diet that directly impact your levels.

Sodium and potassium are key
A new review written by the Vanderbilt University Hypertension Institute shows that an optimal ratio of potassium to sodium may help millions of Americans reduce their risk of hypertension. The best-case scenario for potassium and sodium is suggested to be about a 5:1 ratio, but because our current eating habits are so out of whack (we eat twice the sodium and only half the potassium we need), the researchers say that boosting potassium and reducing sodium by any amount can help.

"Our review showed that an increase in potassium with a decrease in sodium is probably the most important dietary choice (after weight loss) that should be implemented to reduce cardiovascular disease," says lead author Mark Houston, MD, director of the Hypertension Institute at Saint Thomas Hospital and associate clinical professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

The recommended potassium intake is 4,700 mg/day, but national surveys show that 95% of Americans don't come anywhere near this amount. And while the American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day (our body really only needs about 1,500), our intake is double or triple that due primarily to our love of salt, fast food, and processed, packaged foods.

Pressure points
What can you do to better mind your minerals? Use the tips below to boost your potassium, lower your sodium, and ease the tension deep within your arteries.

Strive to eat fruits and veggies at all your meals and snacks—and aim for at least eight servings a day of these potassium-packed foods. Use fruits and vegetables (fresh, dried, or juice) when cooking and baking to boost potassium further.

Enjoy beans, nuts, and seeds; fat-free and low-fat dairy products; and other potassium-rich foods and beverages that provide at least 10% of the Daily Value per serving.

Use low-sodium or sodium-reduced soups, snacks, tomato products, and other processed packaged foods whenever possible. Choose products that contain less than 10-15% of the Daily Value for sodium whenever possible.

Limit fast food and ask for lower-sodium options when eating out. Always have a side salad or veggie side dish to help neutralize the sodium with potassium.

Use herbs and spices, lemon, and other sodium-free options to flavor your foods in place of table salt.

Know your numbers: Normal blood pressure is anything less than 120/80 mg/Hg. Prehypertension is anything between 120/80 mg/Hg and 139/89 mg/HG, and full-blown hypertension is 140/90 or higher. Learn more about blood-pressure measurements here.

High-potassium, low-sodium options
The study authors suggest getting more of the following foods and drinks; all contain less than 50 mg of sodium per serving.

Food/beverage	Serving size	Potassium (mg)
Baked potato with skin	1 medium	926
Nonfat plain yogurt	1 cup	650
Avocado	½ medium	604
Watermelon	1 slice	600
Banana	1 medium	570
Potato	1 medium	504
Tropicana Healthy Heart Orange Juice	1 cup	450
Mushrooms	4 large	415
Nonfat Milk	1 cup	410
Kellogg's Smart Start Cereal	1 ounce	380
Sweet potato	1 small	367
Promise SuperShots	One 3-ounce bottle	350
Quaker Take Heart Instant Oatmeal	1 packet	350
Orange	1 medium	311
Sun-Maid Raisins	¼ cup	310
Silk Soymilk	1 cup	300
Dried plums	4-5 dried plums	290
Broccoli	1 stalk	265
Cantaloupe	¼ medium	250
Peach	1 medium	200

Chart adapted from Clinical Management of Hypertension (Professional Communications, 2008).

By Julie Upton, RD

(PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO/HEALTH)

Natures Pharmacy

esoterickat — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:03:17 +0000

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (mo dern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just l ike the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

I Love Mimi's

diabeticchef — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:08:51 +0000

My mom and I meet for lunch about once a week, and we love to meet at Mimi's. Our favorite lunch is the petite salad. They serve it with a muffin! Yum. You'd think we weren't doing too badly calorie-wise, right? Wrong. Mimi's doesn't post nutritional information, but according to other web sources, here's the breakdown:

Petite fried chicken or cobb salad: 352 calories
Ranch dressing: 200 calories
Chinese sesame dressing: 256 calories

So, for about 550-600 calories and somewhat high amounts of fat and carbs, I get a delicious salad, and it's what I call a "nutritional whopper." All those vegetables counts as 2 or 3 servings. I manage to stop eating the muffin when it's about halfway gone, so that's another 300 or so calories.

Not such a righteous lunch, is it? Delicious and nutritious, but full of calories, fat, carbs, and sodium. Rats. I still order it, but not all the time. Now I alternate with the Mimi's Classic Beef Dip. It's so good, and about 520 calories. It's low in fat, but high in sodium. I go easy on the au jus, so I'm sure it's not nearly as high in sodium as web sources say (so bad I'm not going to repeat it here).

I order the beef dip with a side of coleslaw, and I eat half the serving, so that's 200 more calories. So...what you get is a vegetable, a couple of proteins, a couple of carb servings, and the only price you pay is too much sodium. They grill the sourdough bread...mmmm. I don't know about you, but eating a sandwich is perfectly fine for my blood sugar, as long as I eat it with plenty of protein. Whenever I eat at least 15g protein, I can have a few slices of bread and only go up about 20 points.

Dr. Manny's Notes: From Plantains to Pumpkin

Dr. Manny Alvarez — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:48:41 +0000

Plantains, though they look very similar to their cousin, the banana, are actually quite different and act more like potatoes; they must be cooked prior to eating. Throughout Latin America, plantains are more than just wonderful additions to soups and stews. Unlike potatoes, these treats can be used in all stages of ripeness—from green to almost black! Plantains do not contain any cholesterol or sodium and are low in fat. They contain a good dose of calcium, iron, and potassium, are high in vitamin A, and provide an excellent source of fiber.

Pumpkin, another ubiquitous vegetable found throughout Latin America, is full of taste and health benefits! Whether it’s steamed or baked, or added as a flavorful thickener to all kinds of soups and rice and bean dishes, it makes a delicious and healthy addition. Though low in calories, its bright orange flesh is rich in antioxidants and carotenes, as well as potassium and vitamins C and E. It may lower cancer risk, heart attacks, cataracts, and strokes.

Taste Test

NewSunSEO — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:10:31 +0000

Shake your salt habit :

You can adapt to a low-sodium diet faster than you think, reports the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Researchers had 354 volunteers follow three diets for 30 days each. One contained 1,200 milligrams of sodium per day, one 2,300 mg (within the recommended amount), and one 3,500 mg (the amount most U.S. adults get). Afterward, subjects were willing to continue the 2,300 milligram diet rather than return to a high sodium diet. Americans may associate good taste with lots of salt - until they make a habit of eating lower sodium foods and realize the taste doesn't tank. Start by cutting out 50 milligrams per week (that's your Friday Coke), says lead study author Eva Obarzanek, Ph.D., R.D.

Watch your salt intake this summer

parentunderground — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:30:43 +0000

It's summer and many of us like to barbecue or just order in some pizza and salad. Or while on our road trip we eat foods along the way, stopping at fast food joints and so on. If you are hypertensive, have a family history of hypertension or you just want to live a healthier lifestyle you may want to monitor the amount of sodium you ingest. Most of these restaurants and fast food outlets are so lazy to be creative in their cooking that they douse their food with salt to make it taste better to our detriment: Check out this list of salt in common foods and beware!

PS: These numbers reflect the sodium in one serving of the food listed.

1 taco salad = 1,800 mg of sodium

1 taco or bean burrito = 1,200 mg

8 nachos with cheese sauce = 816 mg

1 tablespoon of salsa = 96 mg

1 serving of spaghetti with meat sauce = 1,600 mg

1 slice of pepperoni pizza = 670 mg

1 cup of miso soup = 2,500 mg

1 5.5-ounce serving of Mandarin chicken = 1,150 mg

1 tablespoon of soy sauce = 902 mg

1 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce = 690 mg

1 5.5-ounce serving of mixed vegetables = 370 mg

Here’s the fast food low-down

1 grilled chicken club sandwich = 1,690 mg

1 6-inch submarine with cold cuts = 1,651 mg

6–8 breaded and fried shrimp = 1,446 mg

1 fish sandwich with tartar sauce =1,270 mg

1 cheeseburger = 1,108 mg

1 piece of battered fish = 790 mg

1.5 ounces of low-fat balsamic vinaigrette = 730 mg

Plain Caesar salad =180 mg

Plain Caesar salad with 2 ounces of dressing = 680 mg

Small order of French fries = 160 mg

1 packet of ketchup =100 mg

Fruit and yogurt parfait = 85 mg

Choose wisely and stay healthy. Best plan is to cook your own food then you know what you are getting.

:195 Water Softener Salt

John Banta — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 08:36:58 +0000

Welcome to today’s 1:5:10:365 Tip for becoming a better steward for our home and planet environment.

1:5:10:195 EcoTip: Water softeners add salt to the water. The amount of sodium is usually small, but for those on a restricted sodium diet, reverse osmosis can reduce the levels of sodium chloride. Another alternative would be to use potassium chloride salt instead of sodium chloride. Potassium chloride may contain traces of naturally occurring beta radiation.

***********************************

Additional Information:

Suggested Review: :172, :190, :191, :192, :193, :194

The following information is quoted from the third edition (released in May 2008 ) of Prescriptions for a Healthy House: A Practical Guide for Architects, Builders & Homeowners:

Water conditioners are used to improve the aesthetic quality of water, including color, corrosiveness, clarity, and hardness. They use a process of ion exchange to eliminate from the water undesirable substances (such as calcium and magnesium) that may precipitate scale on fixtures, laundry machines, hot water heaters, dishwashers, shower stalls, sinks, and skin. Water conditioners can also be effective in removing sediment, chlorine, and certain metals, such as low levels of manganese and iron (both of which can cause stains) as well as odor from hydrogen sulfide. Flow rate is affected by both the size and the design of the water softener and must be appropriately specified on an individual basis. Conditioned water is often referred to as “soft” water. In the ion exchange process, calcium or magnesium ions are exchanged with either sodium or potassium. Sodium chloride is the more common regenerate for water conditioning, but many water treatment companies have switched to potassium chloride, which is widely believed to be a healthier and more ecologically sound choice. Potassium chloride is essentially a refined potash, and when returned to the ground water it can serve as a fertilizer for many plants. The small amount ingested daily from water conditioned with potassium is about equivalent to what you would gain by eating half a banana and can be a positive addition to your diet.

For those with a medical condition affecting electrolyte balance, blood pressure, or kidney function, we suggest you consult a physician before you consider purchasing a water-conditioning system with salt-based regenerates. Potassium chloride may also contain traces of naturally occurring gross beta radiation. Because of chloride discharge into city systems and the subsequent impact of chlorides on rivers and agriculture, some municipalities are moving to ban new salt-regenerating water conditioners and give rebates to customers who switch to salt-free systems. Municipal water and sewer systems are not configured to remove chlorides. This issue is of particular concern in dense metropolitan areas, but since the ion exchange process is also commonly used to remove water contaminants in private domestic wells, chlorides also are discharged into septic systems and ultimately into shallow aquifers.

Would you like to receive an email alert for each new 1:5:10:365 EcoTip? Sign up for a Google Alert.

Dehydrated Meals for 72-Hour Kits?

motherkaren — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:33:46 +0000

The Mountain House brand freeze-dried meals the guys took on the Havasupai trip taste pretty good, but they are probably not a good idea for your three day kits. Each pouch is dinner for two and requires two cups of boiling water. It would be hard for children and older folk to carry the necessary amount of water for the meals and for drinking. This product may be an option for one or two meals. The dinners are very high in sodium (900 mg for one serving of Potatoes & Beef with Onions). A 2-serving pouch cost about $6.

8th Update: Cooking (Sodiumless) + Ethical Question

Arekz — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:45:42 +0000

[wp_caption id="attachment_1187" align="alignright" width="111" caption="Green Snow Pea (Yummm!)"][/wp_caption]

“because that is the way we are”
“because that is the way we were designed”

The first line should be self-explanatory. However, the second is not. The latter suggests that there is or there was this someone or something that made us the way we are --- a God maybe?

Now, suppose that you are a doctor or a nurse and asked you anatomical and physiological question, how do you plan to answer it?

Will you answer it, with respect to your own faith or lack thereof, or your patient’s?

I am just curious.

Yesterday:
We went to a little shopping @ ShopRite, bought some Snow Pea, Cabbage, and Fruit and Porks. We went to Cath’s place and cook (with no Salt!)! We sautéed the washed and chopped porks with tarragon, garlic and onions, and served it with fresh square-cut tomatoes!

Here is my progress note:

From and including: Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 11:55:00 PM
To, but not including : Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 12:41:18 PM
The duration is 4 days, 12 hours, 46 minutes and 18 seconds
Or 4 days, 12 hours, 46 minutes, 18 seconds

Alternative time units
4 days, 12 hours, 46 minutes and 18 seconds can be converted to one of these units:
391,578 seconds
6526 minutes (rounded down)
108 hours (rounded down)

Thats all for now! I will update you soon!

Image is a thumbnail of this copyrighted image from Real State Blog Lab

Tanya's Tasty Tips: Battle of the Bloat

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:45:10 +0000

I feel bloated and am dreading getting into my bathing suit this weekend—can this be due to excess water weight and is there anything I can do to get rid of it?

A: There are a few reasons your body may be retaining extra water. One may be that you had a high sodium meal. Sodium holds up to 50 times its weight in water and consuming more than the recommend 2500mg (1 tablespoon) of sodium each day is sure to leave you bloated. To limit your sodium intake stay away from foods like canned soups, fast foods, and cured meats. In addition, many Asian cuisines such as Chinese and Japanese food rely on ingredients such as soy sauce, fish sauce and MSG which all contain large amounts of sodium.

Another culprit is eating too many simple carbohydrates (think white bread, white rice, white pasta, cookies, chips, etc). Carbohydrates get broken down into glucose and get stored as glycogen for energy. In order to be stored, a water molecule must attach to glucose. Therefore, the more stored carbs = the more stored water = water weight and bloating. To help combat this, choose high-fiber carbohydrates. Since fiber is indigestible, the less net carbohydrate there is, and the less glucose to be stored. This helps to decrease water retention and also promotes weight loss. Sources of high-fiber carbs include whole grains, seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, beans, and legumes.

On that note, if you feel like you are retaining water and that is causing your bloat, don’t despair. Water weight-gain is not body fat and is only temporary. Although it may sound counter-intuitive, drink more water. If you drink more water it will help flush out the sodium and the bloat.

Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being. For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.

Are you Monitoring the Salt/Sodium in your Diet?

myfitin3 — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:12:16 +0000

Too much sodium can contribute to high blood pressure. Watch this video to learn how much is too much and where all this dangerous sodium in your diet comes from... the answer may surprise you.