Salty Facts – Heart Failure and Sodium

Dietary sodium restriction is one of the most common self-care behaviors suggested to patients with heart failure. Although putting less salt on foods is a step in the right direction, it isn’t enough. There is so much hidden salt in foods that people aren't aware of – more than 75 percent of sodium Americans consume is estimated to come from processed foods – not the salt shaker. In this video, Mayo Clinic cardiologist, Dr. Farris Timimi discusses ways patients with heart failure can more effectively control their sodium intake.

How do you monitor how much sodium you're consuming? Reducing your salt-intake can feel like a balancing act – what challenges do you face while trying to regulate sodium?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Heart & Blood Health Support Group.

@kanaazpereira @healthytoday We eat very very little processed foods. We roast our vegetables, and usually make our own meals from scratch. We don’t eat out much..food tastes better homemade....:)) Definitely read labels too. I don’t use the salt shaker normally. I’ll have to look for raw organic celery...thanks for that tip.

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This is a good topic for all of us dealing with the many forms of heart failure. I tend to buy less processed foods now. When I crave a roast beef sandwich, I cook a small roast in the crockpot (to ensure it will be tender) rather than going to a restaurant for beef (or worse yet) visiting a deli and buying roast beef for sandwiches. The great thing about the crockpot is that you can add veggies and get more nutrients than you would if you went out to eat.

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Great suggestion. I'm going to buy a roast today and cook it in the crock pot.

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@hopeful33250

This is a good topic for all of us dealing with the many forms of heart failure. I tend to buy less processed foods now. When I crave a roast beef sandwich, I cook a small roast in the crockpot (to ensure it will be tender) rather than going to a restaurant for beef (or worse yet) visiting a deli and buying roast beef for sandwiches. The great thing about the crockpot is that you can add veggies and get more nutrients than you would if you went out to eat.

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@hopeful33250- sounds so yummy! I'll be right over! Jim @thankful

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The roast is in the slow cooker now. I browned it in a cast iron skillet, transferred it to the slow cooker, sprinkled it with Mrs. Dash's Italian seasoning, topped it with sliced onions, and 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. Hope it's good.

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@harriethodgson1 Your making me hungry sounds delicious

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@harriethodgson1

The roast is in the slow cooker now. I browned it in a cast iron skillet, transferred it to the slow cooker, sprinkled it with Mrs. Dash's Italian seasoning, topped it with sliced onions, and 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. Hope it's good.

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@harriethodgson1 Sounds wonderful. I never thought about the Worcestershire sauce. I'll try it next time.

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The beef is excellent. Before I put the lid on the slow cooker I added a cup of water. This became a flavorful sauce for the meat. We're having roast beef sandwiches today and for several days to come.

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@kanaazpereira

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Did you know that most of the sodium in our diet comes from processed foods such as canned soups, canned beans, fast food, and not from salt added to home-cooked meals? I’d like to invite you to add your "grain of salt” to this discussion about sodium consumption and heart failure management.

Do you read food labels and check sodium content before buying packaged foods? How do you make good choices when eating out? Any tips on how to get started on a low-sodium diet? Pull up a chair, make yourself at home and let’s get the conversation going.

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@kanaazpereira As the others have also said, we use very few prepared foods. I do use some frozen vegetables, and I buy canned soup for my husband, but soups are generally ridiculously high in sodium. I use myfitnesspal a lot to track calories when I am working to lose weight and I like that it tracks whatever nutrients you want it to, and you can put in the maximum you want of the nutrients. I have 1500 mg for sodium and try to keep it below that. I very rarely salt my food.

My biggest downfall in sodium intake is cheese. Cheese tends to have a lot of sodium. I use goat cheese a lot in salads and omelets, it has about half of the sodium of other cheeses. When recipes call for sodium I just don't bother to add it. There are so many people watching sodium now that there are many products available without sodium. I made a great chicken stew this week and it called for 8 C of chicken stock. I was very happy to see that it can be purchased sodium free!

I eliminated sodium so long ago that I really notice salt in foods when we go out to eat. Restaurants tend to use a lot of salt. I find that the better restaurants cook the food to order and I can often get things without salt added.
JK

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@contentandwell I'm like you since I had my by pass I don't eat any more salt then I can don't do canned products hardly at all and no can soups to much salt . A couple of things I have to have salt on eggs and green beans but watch to keep salt to below 1500 mg . Soup day today with all this rain and chilly weather here plus the Golden Milk .

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