Bloated? How much salt do you take in?

Do you ever feel like you are not exactly fat, but holding a lot of excess water weight? ... There's a good chance you are. Americans only need 1000mg/day of sodium to survive, but most of us take in seven times that amount!

High sodium and salt intakes have become such a problem in the US; children are starting to get kidney stones. The prevalence has become much greater due to highly processed foods and fast food diets. And please do not be fooled, canned and packaged foods are also very high in salt. Make sure to read your labels and follow these tips:

• Prepare your foods at home
• Eat out less
• Do not eat fast food
• Decrease the amount of salt you add at the table
  
• Limit your intake of processed meats, ham, bacon, and deli meats (I know, bummer!)
  
• Limit chips, pretzels, salty snacks, and snack on unsalted nuts and seeds
• Instead of salt use: lemon, hot sauce, pepper, hot pepper, fresh herbs, spices, vinegar
• Limit canned and boxed foods
• If you do go out to eat, ask for your entree to be prepared without salt

Most of us get double the recommended 2300mg sodium/day before adding any table salt. Salt is definitely a habit that can be kicked. Restaurants will soon abide by a law to label how much sodium is in prepared foods. As we know salt can lead to high blood pressure, cutting 50% of the salt in our diets could save 150,000 lives per year!

So, CUT THE SALT! and try some different spices and flavors to help you kick the salty habit and get you on the way to better health.

Los Angeles Times, Health, Under Pressure by Emily Sohn, 10/27/2008 A Rise in Kidney Stones by Laurie Tarkan, Boston.com, 10/28/2008 Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook 4e 2008, p45