Sodium -salt (sôlt) 








                                                             
Before the invention of refrigeration, our ancestors used Salt as a method of food preservation. Today salt's use is one of adding flavour.
Cutting salt in our diet can dramatically reduce the risk of heart & cardiovascular disease by 25 -30%. Your heart will reward you when your blood pressure is deceased this much.
That's right something that appears as simple as reducing the amount of salt, can have a huge effect on your life and its enjoyment. The happy side effect is that all the members of your household will also derive the same benefits from sodium reduced meals.

Salt is composed of sodium and chloride, and it's the sodium that causes vessels to tighten, making blood flow through the body more difficult. Salt also has an established effect on blood pressure [HYPERTENSION], which is turn causes the heart to pump harder, reducing both its effectiveness and longevity.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GETTING TOO MUCH SODIUM
A short answer is the odds are against you, you likely are getting too much and sodium is fighting against you and over time becoming an effective silent killer.

If your meals are mostly from processed foods. Even eating often at your friendly fast food or sit down restaurant can add far more sodium than the amount recommended.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation recommends that Canadians eat no more than 2,300 mg of sodium (about 1 tsp / 5 mL of salt) a day total from processed foods and salt added during food preparation and at the table. For those who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure (hypertension), or those who are salt sensitive, sodium intake should be limited to 1,500 mg (2/3 tsp) a day.

Since December 12, 2007 Nutritional Labelling is mandatory for all packaged food in Canada, and even some restaurant & fast food chains may also provide similar information on the premises or on their website.

            food label

The Canadian Food Labelling contain information on 13 nutritional element as well as further details on other important aspects of the food. The amount of each is expressed for a portion size and then displays a calculation of the % Daily Value can be used to determine whether there is a lot or a little of a nutrient in a serving of the food.
Learn more about Nutrition Labelling

TAKE A TEST ON NUTRITIONAL LABELLING
     at Health Canada

Try their Interactive Nutrition Label and Quiz          
Note: Flash 8 Player or above may be required to
          view this Interactive Nutrition Label and Quiz
                    or select the HTML version.

You will be surprised at the amount of sodium is all types of food from soups to soda drinks, that's right some pop has salt added.


               GET RID OF IT!!