Low-Sodium Vegan Diet?

Question

I just tallied up my food intake at www.mypyramid.gov and I was horrified at how much sodium I take in on the average day. I'm going to be starting a low-sodium regimen.

Do you have or know of any low-sodium vegan recipes?

Answer 1

Hi

Here are some links I think you will find useful.

http://www.veganoutreach.org/starterpack...

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/re...

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/re...

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/re...

As you are probably aware, some people are sensitive to sodium, and high intakes have been linked to hypertension and water retention.  I'm not too great with low sodium recipes, but can give you some tips on how to minimise your sodium intake that I learnt from my Nutrition course. A vegetable stir fry is both nutritious & low in sodium.

-Avoid adding salt to your food

-Be wary of canned foods. These can be VERY high in sodium, soups and canned beans are surprisingy high in it!

-Drink lots of water. It literally helps the body eliminate excess salt

-Make sure you get enough exercise. I know this sounds a litle gross, but sweating eliminates salt through the pores. And you can look forward to a nice shower afterwards.

-Increase your potassium intake. Because potassium helps the body to get rid of sodium. Potassium is found in delicious fruits such as bananas, potatoes, tomatoes & even wholegrains.

-Don't eat too much bread- bread is ridiculously high in sodium. Salt and sodium are not quite the same (sodium is the harmful part of salt)

-Always check food labels. Cous cous can be high in sodium, which is a shame because I love it. It is so much better to make dishes yourself. Often, pre packaged foods are high in sodium as it improves the taste and appeal of the food. Salt is a cheap ingredient.

-Buy low sodium varieties whenever possible.

-Do not exceed 6 grams of salt per day. The average adult in the UK consumes in the region of 11 grams a day. This is far too high.

-Breakfast cereals are often high in sodium, muesli with soy yogurt is a MUCH healthier option for breakfast for example.

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nu...

[edit] Not to worry! 4 grams a day is absolutely fine! The average child in the UK is recommended to have 4 grams a day, but your sodium intake is okay because it's balanced and controlled. Any more than 6 grams is worrying. At least you're not getting too much. Don't worry. That's FAR healthier than the average UK intake of 11 grams for a guy!  I know you're not British but most of us British people would be envious that we can't have a low sodium intake.

I would not worry about it. :)

I hope you find this link as interesting as I did->

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/365057...

Oh, sorry I forgot to add- different countries have different recommended daily allowances. In the UK, for salt it is recommended that an individual has no more than 6 grams daily. In the USA it seems 4g is high.

If packaging only states the ''sodium'' content you can find the *salt equivalent* by multiplying the *sodium* value by 2.5

I hope this helps! =)

Answer 2

I WOULD HELP BUT I CNT!

\i guess less salt