Too much Sodium?

It wasn't until I started using MY FITNESS PAL did I notice that I was consuming too much salt.  Yeah, I knew there was sodium in lunchmeat, soup, potato chips, etc. but I didn't know that my breakfast cereal, peanut butter (favorite snack) and lunch bread was loaded with it too.  Just two slices of my  healthy multi-grain bread contain over 300mg of sodium..not to mention over 350mg for my breakfast cereal.  That's almost half of what the FDA recommends for daily sodium intake.

They say the average Joe consumes close to 3,000mg of sodium per day.  That's 2x the recommended daily intake of 1,500mg.  No wonder there are so many people out there with high blood pressure.  What does sodium do to your body and why is it so bad for you?  In short, if you eat too much salt, your body stores water.  The extra water stored in your body raises your blood pressure (because the heart has to pump harder). So, the more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure. The higher your blood pressure, the greater the strain on your heart, arteries, kidneys and brain. This can lead to heart attacks, strokes, dementia and kidney disease.

What to do?  Look for low sodium alternatives.  Instead of buying any old lunchmeat buy Boars Head low sodium lunchmeat.  They also make low sodium and low sugar peanut butter.  I had some the other day and can't tell the difference between it and regular peanut butter- which is a good thing.  As far as cereal, I'll have to do some research.  I like my Honey Nut Cheerios in the morning.  I know the sugar is not that good for you but that's just about all the sugar intake I have all day.  But, I didn't know about the high sodium.  Maybe I'll try Kashi's Honey Toasted Oat.  I hear that is a good alternative.  The sugar and sodium is much lower than Honey Nut Cheerios.

Power ON!  Coach Rob