Reducing salt intake significantly improves health in seniors with high blood pressure or heart disease
High blood pressure is a serious condition that affects 58% of seniors on Medicare.
In fact, heart failure is one of the most common reasons why people age 65+ go to the hospital, and heart disease causes 1 in 4 deaths in the U.S.
What these serious conditions have in common is that reducing sodium intake can significantly reduce symptoms and improve health, reducing the risk of stroke or heart attack.
For most adults and especially people with these health conditions, the American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 mg a day and an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 mg per day.
Table salt is a main source of sodium, but cutting back on salt doesn’t mean cutting out flavor. There are hundreds of recipes that help you create tasty dishes that are low in sodium.
We explain where sodium can hide in everyday foods and share 4 of our favorite recipe websites with dedicated sections for low sodium recipes.
Excess sodium hides in packaged foods
Our bodies only need 1/4 teaspoon of salt every day, but the average American eats 5 or more teaspoons of salt each day.
That’s about 20 times more than the body needs!
Sodium is found naturally in foods, but most of it is added during processing and preparation – watch out for these top 10 sources.
And many packaged foods that don’t taste salty can still be high in sodium – especially canned, processed, and convenience foods.
High amounts of sodium are also found in foods served at fast food restaurants.
4 places to find great low sodium recipes
All recipe websites have low sodium recipes, but the ones we like best have gathered them into a dedicated low sodium category.
Here are 4 great websites that make it easy to find tasty low sodium recipes. Each link takes you directly to the site’s low sodium section.
1. EatingWell
EatingWell has a wide variety of low sodium dishes and makes it especially easy to search for specific types of low sodium dishes.
They even have plenty of sub-categories, like low sodium diabetic and low sodium low carb recipes!
Use the horizontal menu items just above the recipe section to choose specific categories or just scroll down to browse all low sodium recipes.
2. Taste of Home
Taste of Home’s website offers a wide range of low sodium dishes.
They’ve even got a handy filter at the top so you can narrow the options even further – quick, dinner, low-fat, diabetic, etc.
3. Low Salt Kitchen
Low Salt Kitchen’s website is dedicated to low sodium recipes, organized by the type of dish.
They have many categories, including: Breakfast, Dinner, Dessert, Snack, and Soup.
4. allrecipes
allrecipes has a great section of heart-healthy recipes, but they don’t have separate categories for specific types of dishes. You’ll need to keep scrolling to find something that catches your eye.
You can also use the search by ingredient section at the top of the page if you’ve got something in the fridge you need to use up.
Recommended for you:
- 10 Ways to Improve Health in Seniors Living with High Blood Pressure
- How to Get Rid of Swollen Ankles in Seniors: Causes & 3 Home Exercises
- 10 Common Chronic Diseases in Seniors: How to Prevent and Manage
By DailyCaring Editorial Team
Image: Indulge in Healthy Living
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