Sodium and your health

What is sodium?

Sodium is a mineral with the main source in our diet coming from salt. The most common table salt is composed of both sodium and chloride. Sodium is also found in the diet as sodium bicarbonate and as monosodium glutamate in processed foods.

A small amount of salt in the diet is actually beneficial for our health. But on the other hand too much salt can lead to adverse health problems such as high blood pressure and other health conditions.

Most of our salt intake actually comes from processed foods as compared to what we add to our meals or cooking. Approximately 75% of salt in our diets is from processed foods, 15% from salt added to meals/cooking, and 10% from salt naturally found in food.

Unfortunately is it hard to escape processed foods these days, with the vast majority also being high in salt. As we continue to move towards a population that eats out more and consumes mostly processed foods salt becomes more of an important issue for us to tackle.

How much should we consume?

Australians are currently consuming around 9g of salt per day, where we should be aiming to consume around 4g per day. Fresh foods such as cereals, fruit, vegetables and dairy products naturally contain salt and provide more than enough sodium in the diet with no need to add extra salt to food.

The recommendations for sodium intake by the national health and medical research council are listed below. Even lower amounts are recommended for certain diseases such as high blood pressure and kidney disease.

Tips to reduce your intake of salt

1. Use natural herbs and spices to add flavour to your meals
   i.e. basil, garlic, onions, chilli, pepper etc
2. Buy more fresh, unprocessed foods i.e. fresh fruit and vegetables
3. Read food labels
   1. An excellent choice is foods with < 120mg sodium per 100g.
   2. Or a good choice is foods with < 400mg sodium per 100g.
4. Choose reduced salt/no added salt/low salt products
   i.e. reduced salt soy sauce
5. High salt foods to limit in the diet;
   • snack foods i.e. potato chips
   • pickled foods (i.e. olives, gherkins)
   • processed meats (i.e. salami, ham)
   • sausages, meat pies, sausage rolls
   • anchovies, sardines
   • packet soups
   • takeaway foods (i.e. hamburgers)
   • cheese (cheddar, brie etc)

• Try to gradually cut down on the amount of salt in your diet
• Start with making small changes to allow your taste buds time to adjust
• Always taste your food first before adding any salt

Thermomix tips

By making your own meals or snacks in the Thermomix it allows you to control the amount of salt going in. Because you are mainly using fresh ingredients the overall amount of salt in the meal can be lower than the pre packaged processed goods from the supermarket. Here are some examples of ways you can make a difference with the Thermomix

Make your own soups

Packet soups and noodles are extremely high in salt and provide little to nil nutritional value to our diets. Fresh soups are quick and easy to make in the Thermomix and you can significantly reduce the amount of total salt by using reduced salt stock plus natural herbs and spices to provide flavour.

Make your own sauces (such as tomato, barbeque, sweet chili)

Many sauces in the supermarket are very high in salt and by making your own fresh ones in the Thermomix you can cut back on the salt in a big way.

Compare the difference for mayonnaise;

Make your own butter in the Thermomix by simply whipping cream

Compare the difference;

What about iodine?

Iodine is needed to ensure normal functioning of our thyroid gland and the hormones involved with metabolism. The soils in Australia are not very good sources of iodine and are therefore also lacking in the plants grown here. This has led to salts being fortified with iodine to help meet our nutritional needs. Other natural sources of iodine other than salt that you can include in the diet are seafood.

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