Top 5 Surprisingly High Sodium Foods

Lunchmeat and salty snacks are obvious. You might even know about canned and frozed foods. But what about these seemingly innocent grocery items? I have been shopping all over the grocery stores in Arizona to get the scoop on the grocery items you’d least expect to be high in sodium.

1. Chicken breasts. This was the biggest surprise of all. All the flash frozen chicken breasts I checked have over 300mg sodium per half-breast. Even most non-frozen chicken breasts are full of it. Sanderson Farms here in Arizona limits the levels to about 70-100mg per. Seeing the American Heart Association seal on some packages of chicken breasts seems misleading

2. Salsa. Here in Arizona, salsa is a very important condiment. Because it’s a condiment, the serving size is typically 2 tablespoons. So when there is about 240-270 mg sodium per serving, you’re getting a lot of sodium with your snacks and recipes. You can make your own (yummy but hard to keep), or just look in the organic aisle, which probably displays a few brands that are much lower in sodium

3. Spaghetti sauce. Back when I first started paying attention to my carbohydrates, I was surprised to learn that spaghetti sauce in a jar is often higher in carb than cooks would expect. But the real alarming statistic is the sodium–from 300-600 mg per 1/2 cup serving. I haven’t been able to find any brand that isn’t high in sodium. So I stocked up on sodium-free canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, and purchased some Italian seasoning with no sodium

4. Breads. You are probably aware that bread uses salt as part of its leavening process. So nearly all bread contains some sodium. But purchased breads really exploit the sodium. I did find good sodium-free bread with a reasonable amount of fiber at Trader Joe’s. Watch out for the sodium in English muffins, bagels, tortillas, and all the other breads, especially wraps. It’s ridiculous

5. Eggs. I’ve been buying the Egg Beaters product again so that I can have a quick and easy protein for breakfast–despite the weird taste. The sodium is about 115mg per serving, so I thought I could do better by separating the whites and yolks of real eggs instead. Besides, the taste is better. But hold on. One large egg contains about 90mg of sodium. That’s over 180mg sodium for two eggs. So if you can stand it, the Egg Beaters are a better deal, sodium-wise

How low can you go, oh Sodium?

It’s been awhile. It’s been a rough health year for this diabetic. Some of the more notable events include a complicated hysterectomy,  a couple of freak accidents (two scorpion stings and one concussion), and then, at the beginning of October, what appeared to be a heart attack. I was close. The angina actually revealed two arterial blockages, which were stented right quick, with new-fangled stents intended specifically for diabetics. Now I’m a heart patient, with a newfound respect for low, low sodium foods. But I’m not complaining. As an emotional eater who brought on my T2 at age 40 with lots of breads and candies, I scoffed at the trite aphorism “nothing tastes as good as thin feels.” I knew it wasn’t true. However…I now present my own trite aphorism, and I really mean it: “Nothing tastes as good as being alive feels.” There. It’s true. And in the interest of full disclosure, if I never have another pizza or apple pie again, I’ve already had enough for a couple of lifetimes.

As part of my personal program of rehabilitation (getting the LDL down, the HDL up, the A1C even lower), I’ve been shopping. It clears my head, whether it’s shoes or makeup or the canned goods aisle at Safeway. I now not only look at carbs and protein; I’m also sizing up fats and sodium with a keener eye. Here are some foods and their stores that I have discovered in Arizona:

Fry’s (Kroger):
Private Label Italian Seasoning, with their no-salt tomato sauce and tomatoes (for spaghetti)
Private Label organic pinto/kidney/ bean medley – 100mg sodium per 1/2 cup (for chili and Mexican)
Desert Pepper Peach Mango Medium Hot Salsa (only 40mg per serving; check out the others)
Generic tomatoes, tomato sauce, and green beans, all no-sodium
Store brand frozen vegetables–cheap and a good variety

WalMart:
Kozy Shack sugar-free rice pudding (lower in carb and higher in fiber than Jello brand)
Generic tomatoes, tomato sauce, and green beans, all no-sodium

Any store:
Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom snack-size ice cream bars–all <4 net carb but still 7g fat, but delicious! Watch out for the sugar alcohols. My system can’t sustain more than one per day
Baby Swiss cheese–lower in fat and really lower in sodium than any other cheese
Plain yogurt: Mix with Splenda and cocoa for strawberry dip, blend with ice and strawberries and vanilla for a milkshake

And here are some of my failures so far. By failures, I mean that I’m going to have to make them the old fashioned way–from a recipe in a cookbook. Spaghetti sauce in a jar? Whoa! An average of 400 mg per 1/2 cup serving. Bottled salad dressings? Sure, there are a lot of low-fat and low-carb dressings. But find me one with less than 250 mg sodium that I can buy at the grocery store. And how about low-sodium bread with a decent amoung of fiber? I can’t find it, yet. Yikes, I might have to get out the bread machine! And I’m back to buying chicken breasts from the plastic packages (check out the sodium in those flash-frozen packs).

How much sodium is good?

I had a grilled stuff steak burrito (minus rice) at Taco Bell the other day. It was delicious and not too terrible an indulgence, with about 600 calories and 25 grams of fat. Even though it has 73 carbs, it also has 30 grams of protein. But then there’s the sodium: 1930mg. For one burrito! That’s almost an entire day of recommended sodium.

The American Diabetes Association recommends keeping daily sodium intake at 2400mg or lower: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-cholesterol/faqs-sodium.jsp. OK, give it a try.

Fast food is notorious, but more for calories, carbs, and fat than sodium. Diabetics have to be careful about blood sugar levels and especially spikes, but we also have to carefully watch our sodium intake. High blood pressure precedes heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. So we have to be wary not only of sweets, but of any packaged breads, canned foods, frozen convenience foods, restaurant food, or anything else that’s both convenient and tasty–including fast food. It’s all high in sodium.

I recently purchased a package of Mission multi-grain taco tortillas that contained 460mg of sodium…each. After I read all the nutrition information, I threw the package away. I will include more information about Mission tortillas (which I generally like) in a future entry.

For frozen meals, I’ve noticed that only the Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine LInes seem to care about keeping sodium levels decent–about 600mg or less per serving. Lean Cuisine will go higher if you choose the larger entrees. I will provide a comparison table of frozen meals in a future entry. One meal I wholeheartedly endorse, and which might surprise you, is the family size serving of Stouffer’s Lasagne. The one in the red package. It serves 5 (about 1 cup each), and is fairly low in calories (270) and carbs. And even the sodium content (770mg) isn’t that bad. So when you need a quick and easy meal, serve it up with a salad and diet dressing, and you can feel pretty good about it.

The bottom line: If you want to keep sodium levels consistently reasonable, you’re going to have to cook. Here are a few items that help us keep cooking at home simple while keeping the sodium low.

-Sodium-free bouillon, both chicken and beef flavor (I like the packets versus the jars, but both are good)
-Small jars of dried or ground herbs (so they stay fresher): rosemary, bay leaves, bouquet garni, cumin
-McCormick Salt Free and Less Sodium Seasonings: we love Montreal Steak 25% less sodium for steaks and use Spicy or Lemon & Pepper on roasts or sauteed meats
-If you’re not drinkers and you can have alcohol, keep a few small bottles of wine (Cost Plus World Market sells the small bottles individually) around for adding to roasts, stews, soups
-Salt free or reduced sodium canned products: I’ve found tomatoes, green beans, and mushrooms

Partial takeout is another option. Grocery stores are full of convenience items these days, and most of them are really, really high in sodium. But some aren’t. I love Safeway’s deli meatloaf. Each 3 oz serving (which is a little small for us) contains 200 calories, 11g fat, 6g net carb, and 460mg sodium. That’s high sodium, but not so high for a convenience food. Serve with small white potatoes baked in the microwave and a few vegetables (we keep lots of bags of sodium-free vegetables in the freezer).

How much fiber is good?

According to the ADA, all people should consume from 25-50 grams of fiber each day.

“People should eat 25-50 grams of fiber every day. High-fiber foods include oats and barley; whole-grain breads, cereals, and pastas; brown rice, dry beans, peas, and lentils; nuts, fruits, and vegetables. ” http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-research/summaries/anderson-carbs.jsp

Those of us with diabetes must balance our diets carefully to control blood sugars, which often means keeping carbs low. This effort makes getting our daily recommended fiber even more of a challenge, because of the sources of fiber. My personal goal is to get 25 grams of fiber each day, while limiting carbs to between 100 and 150 grams, as well as consuming at least 5 fruits and vegetables per day for the nutrients.

High fiber is important to mitigate the effect of carbs on blood sugar spikes. You might have heard of the term “net carb.” This is a simple equation to help diabetics determine the effect of carbs on their blood sugar. You just subtract total fiber from total carb. For example, a Western Alternative plain bagel has 25 grams of carb and 7 grams of fiber. Therefore, the net carb is 18. Counting net carbs is just one way diabetics manage blood sugar, but it’s a pretty basic and simple way for beginners to begin counting their carbs.

The high-fiber products that help me reach my goals are Orowheat Double Fiber bread, Western Alternative bagels, pitas, and English muffins, Mission low carb tortillas, and–believe it or not–Benefiber powder. I get the bulk of my fiber (pun intended) from bread products, supplemented by fruits and vegetables. The Benefiber powder ensures that even when my diet is lacking, I can add to my daily fiber intake easily. I’ve incorporated all these bread products into my daily diet because they fit with what I would typically eat anyway. Example: http://diabeticchef.wordpress.com/2008/03/24/daily-menu-1-chicken-salad-sandwich-sirloin-steak/

People who love salads can get a lot of fiber from vegetables, but if you can’t (or won’t) eat salads every day, then these bread products really help. And if you’re going to have a low-fiber day, just add 2 tsp Benefiber powder to your morning coffee. You won’t notice it, I promise, and it will add 3g fiber just like that.