LOW SALT COOK BOOK

Reading a Food Label for Sodium Content - Low Salt Cook Book

Learn to Read Food Labels

By reading food labels, you can learn which foods are high and

low in sodium. As a rule, most processed foods whether they are

frozen, canned, or boxed, are high in sodium. For example, most

frozen TV dinners, frozen snack foods such as pizza rolls and

egg rolls, canned vegetables, and instant hot cereals are high in

sodium and should be avoided.

But not all processed foods are high in sodium. Some packaged

foods are available in low- or no-salt versions.

8

Sometimes it is hard to know what to eat. The only way to know

for sure is to read the food label. It is especially important to read

the labels of processed foods or any foods with which you are

unfamiliar.

The charts here list some high- and low-sodium foods, so you

can get an idea of which foods you should choose and which

ones you should avoid.

The next section will teach you how to read a food label for

sodium content.

Reading a Food Label for Sodium Content

Begin by reviewing the

serving size and sodium

content information

(see the circled areas

on the sample). The

serving size for the food

is 1 cup. The sodium

content for that serving

is 130 mg.

If you eat the same

sized serving as the

one listed on the label,

then you are eating

the amount of sodium

that is listed. But if the

amount you actually

eat is either larger or

smaller, the amount

of sodium you will be

eating will also be larger

or smaller.

For example, if you

eat a double portion of

the food shown on the

label, Low Salt Cook Book you will also be

eating twice as much

sodium as listed on the

label. A 2-cup serving

of the food would

contain 260 mg of

sodium.

Tracking the Sodium

in Your Diet

of everything you eat and drink for four days. Do not forget to

include snacks.

You can use the chart on page 15 to track what you eat. A fullpage

version of the chart can be printed from

our Web

If you don’t know the sodium content of a particular food, write

down the food anyway. Free Cookbooks Download Your nurse or dietitian will work with you

to estimate the sodium content. You can also look up the sodium

content of foods on the Internet.

you ate more than 2,000-3,000 mg of sodium each day, look at

Think about where you might be able to cut down on sodium.

You can also review the list of what you ate with your nurse,

to what is best for you.

n Choose the salad bar. Free Cookbooks Pdf It can be an excellent way to eat a

low-sodium meal in a restaurant. But remember the following

guidelines when selecting items:

ª Choose fresh vegetables, fruits, and eggs served in their

natural state. FREE COOK BOOKS That includes lettuce greens, spinach greens,

tomatoes, COOK BOOKS cucumbers, onions, radishes, green peppers,

red peppers, alfalfa sprouts, fresh mushrooms, broccoli,