February is Heart Health Awareness month, so for your information:

.                                                      Article from Menu Notes

                                                                              HOW MUCH SALT IS ENOUGH                                           

The American Heart Association has guidelines for the amount of sodium we should have each day—1500 mg. Depending on what you eat, this may be easy to achieve, or may require some changes.  A single can of soup can have 800 mg of more! Limiting your intake to 1500 mg of sodium per day can lower blood pressure. When blood pressure is too high, health problems such as heart disease, heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease have a better chance of developing.

 So what should you avoid or limit? Foods that are high in sodium are everywhere and easily creep into your diet without you even knowing it! Salt is very often hidden in foods.  In general, foods that contain lots of sodium per serving are snack foods, lunch meats, cheeses, condiments and canned foods.

 According to the American Heart Association, 75% of sodium in our diets comes from processed foods.  Even processed foods that are seemingly healthy, such as canned vegetables and soups, may contain high amounts of sodium.

It is very important to carefully read labels.  For example, a can of vegetable soup may contain 800 mg of sodium per serving.  And did you know that many soup cans have 2 servings per can?  Eating the whole can is 1600 mg of sodium which is well over the limit and you haven’t eaten anything else.

Your body does need some salt, but most people get plenty. So what is best?

       Another thing to consider—your medications.  They are an unexpected source of significant amounts of sodium.  Always check the labels on over-the-counter drugs, and ask the doctor about sodium when receiving a prescription.  Antacids, laxatives and cough medicines commonly contain sodium.