Sodium can be sneaky!
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks can add up to more than 4,000 mg of sodium for the day. Throughout the day, the average American consumes nearly 3,500 mg of sodium for the day. That is more than two times the amount recommended by the American Heart Association. Too much sodium can be risky for your health. Thankfully, meals with lower sodium can be just as delicious and can keep your sodium in check.
You deserve the right to take back control of the sodium in your food. The first step? Watch for the hidden sodium in food, then take action and make your voice heard by telling the food industry that you want healthier foods!
Here is how the sodium can add up:
Breakfast
Sausage & cheese omelet with hash browns and orange juice
Total sodium: 1,016 mg
vs.
Veggie omelet with sweet potato home fries and orange fruit cup
Total sodium: 188 mg
Breakfast Tip: Add color! Replace some meats, cheeses, and side dishes with flavorful fruits and vegetables.
Morning Snack
Banana Bread
Total sodium: 181 mg
Vs.
Fresh banana
Total sodium: 1 mg
Snack tip: Satisfy your sweet tooth with a delicious piece of fruit.
Lunch
Turkey sandwich with a side salad and a pickle
Total sodium: 1,935 mg
vs.
Turkey sandwich with a side salad and cucumber slices
Total Sodium: 668
Lunch Tips:
Use veggies to add flavor instead of salty condiments, sauces and sides.
Compare labels on salad dressings. Choose the option with less sodium.
When dining out, ask for your meal to be prepared without extra salt.
Afternoon Snack
Potato chips
Total sodium: 148 mg
vs.
Unsalted almonds
Total sodium: 0 mg
Snack tip:
Need an afternoon pick-me-up? Choose nuts for extra crunch.
Compare labels. Choose the item with the lesser amount of sodium.
Dinner
Chicken with boxed macaroni and cheese and veggies
Total sodium: 1,062 mg
Vs.
Chicken with homemade macaroni and cheese and fresh veggies
Total sodium: 277 mg
Dinner Tip:
Prepare food at home to have more control over the sodium in food. Replace salt in recipes with herbs, spices, citrus, or vinegar.
Foods that look the same may contain different amounts of salt! Compare labels. Choose the item with the lesser amount of sodium.
Option 1 Grand Total: 4,342 mg sodium
Option 2 Grand Total: 1,134 mg sodium
Daily amount of sodium recommended by the American Heart Association for most adults: 1,500 mg.
Healthy Tips
Community Health Services of Union County, Inc.
Call Us: 704-296-0909
Sip Smarter
Replace sugary beverages…
- full-calorie soft drinks
- energy/sports drinks
- sweetened “enhanced water” drinks
- sweet tea
- sweetened coffee drinks
…with these better choices:
- water – plain, sparkling and flavored
- diet soft drinks
- coffee and tea without added sugars
The facts may surprise you.
Most Americans consume nearly 20 teaspoons of added sugars each day. That’s TRIPLE the recommended daily limit for women and DOUBLE for men!
Sugar-sweetened beverages like soda and energy/sports drinks are the #1 SOURCE of added sugars in our diet.
A can (12 FL OZ) of regular soda has about 150 calories and 10 teaspoons of added sugar.
The possibilities will delight you!
Try these tips to switch to drinks with less added sugars. They will quench your thirst and taste good.
Start cutting back. Take steps to reduce or replace added sugars (caloric sweeteners) in your diet:
- Replace some of your drinks with water.
- Swap full-calorie soda with diet soda.
- Reduce the amount of sugar in your coffee and tea.
- Add plain or sparkling water to drinks to keep some of the flavor with less added sugars per serving.
Choose water. Make water the easy, more appealing choice:
- Carry a refillable water bottle.
- Add a splash of 100% fruit juice or slices of citrus, berries and even cucumbers for a boost of flavor.
- Try seltzer, club soda or sparkling water if you crave the fizz.
- Add a low-calorie sweetener.
Make it at home. Family favorites like hot chocolate, lemonade, smoothies, fruit punch, chocolate milk and coffee drinks easily can be made at home with less added sugars.
Start with unsweetened beverages, then flavor to taste with additions like fruit, non-fat milk, low-calories sweeteners, and herbs and spices.
Read the label, and choose wisely. Some drinks that appear to be healthy may be high in calories and added sugars. Check servings per container and ingredients list. Keep in mind that added sugars go by many names, including sucrose, glucose, maltose, dextrose, high fructose corn syrup, concentrated fruit juice, agave nectar and honey.