›› Low Sodium Cholestrol Diet

Sodium is a mineral that is essential to the body. However, if you have special conditions like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or heart disease, exces sodium can cause your body to retain water and can be harmful. If you have high cholesterol, you will want to limit the amount of sodium you eat to about 4 grams a day. However, it is very important to talk to your doctor because some people with certain conditions will need to restrict their diet to only 2 grams of sodium a day.

›› Finding the Sodium in Your Diet

The first step to lower your sodium intake it to indentify where your dietery sodium is coming from. In the typical person's diet table salt is one of the largest sources of sodium. Table salt is often used in food preparation. You should make a concious effort to limit the amount of table salt you use everyday. Although table salt it perhaps the easiet source of sodium to find, it is not the only one you should worry about. Sodium can be found in many places. Some food naturally have more sodium than others. You not even realize that you are eating sodium in some foods. That's why reading the labels of all foods is critical. When reading labels, remember the 2-4 gram goal. One place you will find extremely high sodium content is in fast food restaurants. Avoid fast food if at all possible and when dining in a restaurant, ask to have your meal prepared without salt. Don't forget that food isn't the only place to find sodium in your diet. If you take certain medications like antacids, laxatives, and cough syrups to name a few often contain sodium. Check with your doctor of pharmacist for medication with the lowest sodium content. Another place you may not expect to find sodium is in water. If the water you drink is softened with water softeners, it will often contain sodium, which replaces the calcium in hard water.

›› Tips for Choosing Low Sodium Foods

When choosing a bread, try to avoid sweet rolls or rolls with salted tops. For crackers and snack food avoid salted crackers, regular peanut butter, and party dips. For meat products avoid salted, canned, smoked, spiced, and picked meats.