Everyone knows that too much sodium in food isn’t good for health. So, how do excess sodium affects your body? Well, too much dietary sodium can increase your blood pressure and can make you bloated and puffy. This in turn affects the cortisol levels in the body. Overconsumption of sodium is linked to high levels of cortisol which leads to deposition of excess fat in body.
Processed foods generally contain high amount of sodium. However, not just processed foods, there are various other foods that can contain high amount of sodium. One of the most common examples of such foods is sparkling water. There are various other foods too that can be harmful for body with their excess sodium content.
However, Jillian Michaels mentions some easy ways that can be helpful in balancing the levels of sodium in body, these are:
- Balance the amount of sodium consumed: A person whose age is less than 50 years should not consume more than 2000 milligrams sodium in a day. However, if older than 50 years, the limit of consumption reduces to 1500 milligrams of sodium a day.
Jillian says that the best way to keep a track of everyday sodium consumption is to check the nutrition label of a food item for the amount of sodium per serving.
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- Go for low-sodium foods: Jillian suggests that whenever you buy a food item at a supermarket, always check whether a low sodium version is available or not. If available, go for it. Such food will help you balance the levels of sodium in body.
- Avoid certain foods that contain high amount of sodium: The American Health Association (AHA) [1] has released a list of foods containing high amount of sodium. The amount of sodium present in these foods can be very harmful and possibly lead to various health conditions such as stroke.
Some of these foods are:
- Bread (white) and rolls Lunch meats such as sausages and meat loaves. However, their low sodium versions can be consumed.
- Fast-foods such as sandwiches and burgers contain large amount of sodium which can exceed the recommended amount.
- Pizza, well it is difficult to avoid pizza, so going for a whole wheat dough and limiting the amount of cheese can be helpful. Also, say goodbye to sausage and pepperoni toppings if you want to eat pizza without affecting the normal sodium levels in your body.
- Poultry meats, however, organic poultry meats can still be consumed.
- Soups that contain excessive amount of sodium. But, if the soup package mentions no-salt-added or low sodium, it can be consumed without disturbing the sodium levels of body.
- Go for other natural flavors: There are several spices and herbs that can be used in place of salt to flavor your food. Use them instead of common salt that increases the levels of sodium in body.
- Go for foods rich in potassium: You must consume foods rich in potassium. Excessive water intake and regular workout must follow this. These can be helpful in balancing the levels of sodium by releasing extra sodium out of body. A workout routine that involves at least 4 hours of sweating a week is advised. Also, go for foods such as leafy green vegetables and bananas that are rich in potassium.
These tips can help in balancing the levels of sodium in body and living a healthy life.