“Excess Sodium Harmful to Heart”
Monica L. Payne, Extension Agent—Family and Consumer Sciences
University of Florida/IFAS Citrus County Extension
3650 W. Sovereign Path, Suite 1
Lecanto, FL 34461
352-527-5700
February is American Heart Month, so it is a good time to focus on one of the risk factors for
high blood pressure: high sodium intake. Other risk factors that increase a person’s risk for
developing high blood pressure are:
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Family History
Being over the age of 65
Being African American
Obesity
About one in three Americans has high blood pressure, which is also known as hypertension.
Having high blood pressure increases a person’s risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Most Americans consume more sodium than they need. In fact, the average daily sodium
intake for Americans aged 2 and older is more than 3,400 milligrams (mg). Our bodies only
need a small amount of sodium. The Dietary Guidelines of 2010 recommend that everyone
including children should reduce their sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of
sodium a day (about 1 teaspoon of salt). Adults age 51 and older, African Americans of any age,
and individuals with high blood pressure, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease should further
reduce their sodium intake to 1,500 mg a day (2/3 of a teaspoon of table salt). This special
population who needs to reduce sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day accounts for approximately
70 percent of adults.
Reducing sodium
intake can help to
lower blood pressure
and decrease risk for
hypertension. Nearly
400,000 deaths each
year in the U.S. are
attributed to high
blood pressure, so
reducing sodium
intake could
potentially prevent
many thousands of
premature deaths each year. Most (77%) of the sodium that Americans eat comes from
processed and restaurant foods. Only a small portion (11%) comes from cooking or adding at
the table. The rest (12%) occurs naturally in foods. Since foods can have high sodium content
and not taste salty, it is important to read the nutrition facts label to find out the sodium
content of foods.
When using the nutrition facts label on packaged foods, look
for the amount of sodium in the food. It will be listed in two
ways, as the number of milligrams per serving and as a
percent of the Daily Value. In the Nutrition Facts Label
provided, one serving of the food contains 470 mg (which is
20% of the Daily Value) of sodium. At the bottom of the label,
you will see that the Daily Value for sodium is 2,400 mg. This
is higher than the less than 2,300 mg recommendation and
the recommended level of 1,500 mg per day for middle-aged
or older adults and for persons at high risk for hypertension.
The food label has not been updated since the lower sodium
recommendations were announced. In the sample Nutrition
Facts Label, 470 mg is 31% of the Daily Value for individuals
with a target level of 1,500 mg per day. Still the nutrition
label gives us the opportunity to compare the amount of
sodium (in milligrams) in different brands of the same food.
Always check to make sure that the serving size is the same
for the products that you are comparing, but generally they
will be for similar types of food.
To lower your sodium intake, try the following
recommendations:
 Know your recommended daily limits for
sodium intake.
 Choose fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables are naturally low in
sodium and are potassium-rich, which helps to buffer the effects of sodium on
blood pressure.
 Choose canned fruits and vegetables with no salt added.
 Compare the Nutrition Facts Labels of different products to find foods with less
sodium. Hint: Foods considered low in a nutrient such as sodium have 5% or less
of the daily value of sodium.
 When eating out, ask that your food be prepared without added salt,
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), or salt-containing ingredients.
 Ask the grocery store manager for low sodium options, if they are not currently
available.
 Try low sodium recipes (See recipe for low-sodium Vegetable Beef Soup).
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Don’t add salt when cooking pasta, rice, noodles, and vegetables.
Substitute herbs and spices, as well as lemon or lemon juice, in place of salt,
when possible.
For more information, call Monica Payne at the Extension office at 352-527-5713.
Citrus County Extension links the public with the University of Florida/IFAS’ knowledge,
research, and resources to address youth, family, community, and agricultural needs. All
programs and related activities sponsored for, or assisted by, the Institute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences are open to all persons with non-discrimination with respect to race,
creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin,
political opinions, or affiliations.
Citrus County Extension—Providing Solutions for Your Life
Monica Payne is the Family and Consumer Sciences Agent for Citrus County Extension.