It hadn’t occurred to me that some folks – many, apparently – don’t know the crucial difference between salt and sodium. But a story sister Erin found recently hammered home the importance of knowing, when you evaluate foods for heart health…
The classic Big Mac Combo from McDonald’s: Contains 1,359 mg /
59 percent of your daily recommended allowance of sodium….
Fundamentally different
Salt and sodium are really very different substances. We often use them interchangeably. But that’s a mistake. And it could colour or distort your perception of foods when you’re evaluating their heart healthiness.
Ions, metals and minerals…
Salt and sodium are just about as different as any two materials can be.
Sodium is a fundamental metal, on the Periodic Table of Elements. It’s one of 100-odd substances that occur naturally here on earth and stand alone without being combined with others. And by itself, it’s highly reactive and poisonous.
Ions are ‘free’ atoms of elemental substances, each with its own tendency to combine with others. When two or more different ions combine, making a more stable substance, you get either a mineral or an ‘organic compound’. The organic ones are always based on carbon atoms, and have their own catalogue of characteristics and combining tendencies. Minerals result when a metal element combines with just about any other compatible element.
Salt is a mineral officially called Sodium Chloride. It’s a common mineral – sodium likes to combine with chlorine – and it’s found all over the world. It’s been used since ancient times as a health supplement, a seasoning and even as a currency.
What happens inside
In your body, salt is broken down into sodium and chloride ions. It’s the sodium that can cause heart problems when present in excess.
As the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation relates: “[E]ating foods with too much salt can increase the amount of blood in the arteries, raising blood pressure and increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.”
Reading the Nutrition Facts
You’ll often see 2 separate entries in Nutrition Facts (NF) listings, one for salt, and another for sodium. It’s important that you know how both translate to total sodium content.
If you see an entry on the NF list for ‘total sodium’, you can take that as read. It includes all the sodium that naturally occurs in the food plus any that’s been added in processing. Pretty convenient, if you’re evaluating heart healthiness.
When you see a separate listing for ‘Salt’, that usually means added salt. And that should always be taken as a ‘CAUTION’ sign.
Your official, healthy daily allowance of sodium is 2,500 mg.
Insidious added salt
To be specific… It’s the added salt you need to be aware of. You can’t do anything about sodium that occurs naturally in foods. But you should be aware that added salt in processed foods is the main source of excess sodium in your diet. Steer clear of foods with a lot of added salt. Salty snacks, Fast Foods and cured meats are among the biggest offenders.
My take
It’s easy to guard against eating food containing too much sodium. If you know how to read the Nutrition Facts label!
And it’s fundamentally important for your and your family’s health…
~ Maggie J.