Low Sodium Diet

An explanation of a low sodium diet using Canadian food names so you can prepare for the Canadian registered Nurse Exam.

A low salt diet should contain no more than 2 to 3 grams of sodium per day. People with mild heart failure may be restricted to under 3000 mg per day. Under 2000 mg per day would be considered a significant restriction.

Just to put things in perspective one teaspoon or 5 mls of salt has about 2300 mg of sodium so a restriction under 2000 mg per day means less than 5 mls of salt is allowed per day.

Patients should be taught how to read the food label and should know what foods contain a lot of salt so these foods can be avoided.

When you are teaching clients about a low salt diet it is helpful to teach them that processed and packaged foods are the largest contributor of sodium to the diet.

Processed food includes anything that comes in a container or a bag:

• commercial baked goods
• frozen dinners
• packaged side dishes
• canned food
• packaged dried soups
• all "junk" food or fast food
• food from vending machines

A can of soup can contribute as much as 1000 mg of sodium. Additionally anything that is pickled or preserved should be avoided since sodium is used as a preservative in these products.

This would include processed meats such as wieners, sausages, bologna, and all packaged meats that might be sold as "luncheon" meats or "deli" meats.

Sometimes condiments such as soy sauce, ketchup, and barbeque (BBQ) or other prepared sauces are overlooked because patients do not consider them to be "food" but they can be significant contributors of sodium to the diet.

The classic strategy for low sodium cooking is to use herbs and lemon juice for flavourings and avoid the salt shaker.

Questions on the Canadian Registered Nurse Exam will give you choices of different foods to select out for a low sodium diet.

Will you be able to select the correct ones from the list of Canadian food?

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