The New Enemy: Sodium in canned foods

Only a few weeks ago, I was talking to somebody about my high blood pressure, watching my diet and said, "I don't eat salt." What I meant was, "I never put salt on my food," which I thought meant, "I don't eat salt." She said, in effect, "Oh, yeah?" She went to my food cabinet which was proudly filled with canned and boxed food, and began pulling them off the shelves one by one.

(Before reducing my salt the last few weeks, my blood pressure readings were typically in the 130s top number, in the 80s bottom number.

(With reduced salt in the last few weeks, my last 2 readings were 118 and 110 (over 73). Normal is 120/80 and below.

(I don't even how to discuss that.

(This woman told me she had gotten off her blood pressure pill. She cooks basically all of her food from scratch. But still, she got off of her blood pressure pill. I thought reducing your blood pressure readings was for other people.)

What I've learned is, frozen food, not canned.(If you eat canned veggies, look for no salt type.) Fresh food (veggies, meat, etc.) better even than frozen, although some frozen (veggies) is very low in salt. But frozen fish/meat food is high in salt. Best to get fresh meat.) Check the back of the veggie bags.

Also, as a bipolar, I take Lithium as a stabilizer (along with Mirtazapine anti-depressant). So, the Lithium alone is nothing but salt, which can really hurt the kidneys. They're always checking my lithium level to make sure I'm not getting too much salt. Lowering the salt in my diet will be a tremendous help since I take Lithium (salt).

American Heart Association says the top number for salt a day, if you have high blood pressure, is 2,300 mg. The ideal limit is no more than 1,500 mg a day.

Pointing to the "sodium" content only, this is what she showed the guy who has high blood pressure (Valsartan), who honestly thought he was eating no salt, was being as healthy as possible, by putting no salt on his food.

1. Beef stew, 970 mg of sodium, (40% daily value), if you only eat 1 cup.
2. Brunswick stew, 750 mg sodium, (31% daily value) 1 cup
3. Chicken and Dumplings, 1,040 mg of sodium, (43 daily value) 1 cup
4. Corn beef hash, 970 mg of sodium, (40% daily value) (serving size 1 cup, entire can is about 2 cups. I now cut down the helping to about 1/4th of a can. So, if half can serving is 970 mg., 1/4th of a can is about 450 mg. That's still pretty high.)
5. Spam, 580 mg of sodium, (25% daily value) if you only eat 1/6th of the 12 ounce can. Most people eat twice that much.

6. canned peas 380 mg., (17%) 1/2 cup
7. (no salt added) canned peas (only 15mg, not the above 380 mg. for salted canned peas, (1%)
8. canned green beans, 380 mg (17%) 1/2 cup
9. frozen (not canned) lima beans, 230 mg of sodium (not 380 as with canned) (10%)
10. frozen (not canned) Kroger Mixed Vegetables, 10 mg sodium (not 380 mg as with canned green beans) (0% daily value)

11. frozen broccoli (not canned), 25mg sodium (not 380 mg as with canned green beans) (1% daily value)
12. frozen Gordon's fish fillets (2 pieces) 650 mg .of sodium (27% daily value) (I now cut the portion to only 1 fillet, so sodium is down to 225 mg. and 14%.) (Still, fresh fish/meat better than frozen.)
13. frozen chicken nuggets (5) 540 mg of sodium (23% daily value) (By cutting portion to only 4 nuggets, I reduce that to around 400 mg.)
14. Creamed chipped beef (frozen meat supper), 550 mg of sodium (23% daily value)
14.1. frozen curly fries, 390 mg of sodium, 1 1/4 cups (16% daily value)

15. Campbell's tomato soup, 480 mg. of sodium, (20% daily value) 1/2 cup serving
16. Split Pea with bacon soup,, 790 mg (34% daily value)
17. Vegetable Beef soup, 790mg, (34% daily value)
18. Cream of Potato soup, 760 mg (32%)
19. Campbell's "Well Yes!" lightly salted tomato soup (290 mg , not 480 mg as above), (13%)
20. Campbell's "Well Yes!" lightly salted vegetable soup 290 mg (13%)

21. Au Gratin potatoes (boxed) 450 mg (19%) (but only if you eat 1/5th of the box. Eat 1/3rd, and you're in the 700 mg range.)
22. Rice: Knorr's Rice Sides (fancy rice), 630 mg, (27%)
23. compare that with, regular brown rice, not fancy: 0 sodium, 0% daily value)
24. Cornbread type Stuffing Mix (boxed), 350 mg
25. Mashed potatoes (boxed) 500 mg

26. Snacks: Nabisco Easy Cheese squirt can, 2 tablespoons, 450 mg sodium (20% daily value)
27. Hummus spread for crackers, bread, 95 mg. sodium, (4% daily value) (hummus found in with dairy near cottage cheese)
28. Peanut Butter, 115 mg sdoium, 2 tablespoons,(5 %)
29. Lance whole grain sandwich, 6 crackers with cheese, 390 mg sodium, (17% daily value)

Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 7/30/2019 12:09:22 PM (GMT-6)

You're absolutely right about salt/sodium levels in processed food and food in cans. Generally there is less salt in plain frozen vegetables but always always check the package or can for the sodium content. I suppose that salt is added to canned food to help with preservation?

Canned food like soups, stews, sauces, food like ravioli and spaghetti-o's have a lot of salt so it really is best to make your own. If a person doesn't cook, I understand that it's hard to come up with ideas to make soup and stews from scratch though.

Kidneys are so vitally important to all of us and we need to do all we can to keep them healthy. Thanks for your post, TimTam!

Too much or too little of a good thing! Either way there are side effects. I also drain olives, pickles, dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and sometimes run water through them before putting them back in their jars. I'm sure there are traces of salt left though. I don't cook anything with salt but I will add some salt at the table. The body needs some salt but we have to be careful. Processed food, especially processed meat like luncheon meat, bacon, sausages, etc. are notorious for their sodium content and now with a connection to colon cancer (nitrates?), doctors say to stay away from them. But what about home-made sausage?

Anyway, yes, be careful out there! Have a healthy week!

The person who told me about the high amount of salt in food (especially canned food) is sitting right beside me reading the posts. Concerning the post by msOuchie who said she had been cutting back on regular salt, then switched to sea salt, and continued by saying:

“Then I discovered that I must have gone too far or something else is causing my problem of too low sodium. I can't seem to get it back up. Evidently, sea salt has high potassium. Now I also have high potassium. The doctors can't figure out what's going on with me.”

My above mentioned friend suggested trying, instead of regular salt or sea salt, “Himalayan pink salt” sold in many grocery stores next to the regular salt (or in health food section or at a health food store). She buys it in Walmart grocery store, but that other grocery stores have it also.

By typing “Himalayan pink salt” into the search engine, one of the top 4 or 5 websites listed https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/pink-himalayan-salt (highlight and paste into address bar) said:
---------------------
Pink Himalayan salt is a type of salt that's naturally pink in color and mined near the Himalayas in Pakistan. Many people claim that it's loaded with minerals and provides incredible health benefits.

For these reasons, pink Himalayan salt is often thought to be much healthier than regular table salt. However, little research on pink Himalayan salt exists, and other people insist that these extravagant health claims are nothing more than speculation.
This article looks at the key differences between pink Himalayan salt and regular salt and evaluates the evidence to decide which type of salt is healthier.

ARTICLE SUMMARY: Salt consists mostly of sodium chloride and helps regulate important processes in the body. The potentially harmful effects of too much salt have caused many people to start using pink Himalayan salt instead.

The Himalayan is said to be better....however.....still salt. Some are fake and just dye added. H.s May be useful to some....alike cinnamon powder in reducing bgl....what ever works best for you. Great discussion. HT

Kerp strong mate. HT

Hello again. Salt has sodium and sodium tends to raise blood pressure. However, salt is also a tricky subject because it's vital in small amounts but deadly in high amounts.

I'm usually only looking at salt content which tends to be around 2% in restaurant foods and processed meat products. Thanks to this topic, I realize I should also be looking at sodium and cook more often..

While sodium raises blood pressure, calcium has a slight opposite effect. So, it's common over here to replace some of the sodium with calcium but it makes the salt taste a little different. They sell salt with for example 50% less sodium. I think I'll settle with this and skip the pink salt..

Gosh, I meant kalium, or is it potassium in English. I did double check my info on calcium before posting and it also has a slight lowering effect but my salt container clearly states it has potassium instead.

Summer has been cold but now they are forecasting a heatwave starting in a few days. I started exercising a while back and I think I've managed to drop both my blood pressure and cholesterol over the last few years. I also have a chance to use constant blood glucose monitoring sensor. This is pretty cool stuff. I don't like glucose monitoring at all but now I can just wave my cell phone on the sensor and get a reading. So, my hba1c has improved a lot too. But now I have an eye examination coming up and am a little bit nervous about it. I'm hoping there are no complications but who knows.

Ok, well, I have never heard of the concept called salt substitute as such before. In stores this salt I got was simply placed right next to sea salt and regular salt on the shelves. There's a small print on the container that says this one has 50% less sodium, or even 75, but I didn't consider this product a substitute before, just an option among others. Many if not most people use it at home anyways and I had no reason not to pick it up.

However, today I have learned that if I had kidney problems, I should be careful with potassium chloride. Thank you for the thought. My doctors have always recommended some salt with less sodium for me and they know my history. I do have my kidney function and eyes tested at least once a year.

Hi Tim Tam. As far as carrot juice goes, that has more carbs than I would take. Spinach, however, and other leafy greens are beneficial. https://www.glaucoma.org/treatment/nutrition-and-glaucoma.php

I would say in general we could all benefit from natural vegetables. Keep in mind there are various health conditions that actually get worse if you eat certain food so make sure you know the best food for you!