If you are someone that suffers from congestive heart failure or high blood pressure then you probably are eating or need to eat a low sodium diet. Following a diet low in salt helps to maintain a lowered blood pressure, which is ideal in a situation when someone has high blood pressure and swelling, particularly in the hands, feet and legs. A diet low in sodium helps to keep your health under control. For those with heart failure, a diet lower in sodium can also make breathing easier. An ideal low sodium diet should have no more than a daily dose of 2,300 milligrams of each day, with less than 1,500 mg of sodium a day as an ideal amount.
Diets low in sodium are heart healthy, primarily because a diet low in sodium has the tendency to keep blood pressure low. A lower blood pressure equates to less internal pressure on the blood vessels. High blood pressure brings along a myriad of unwanted, and very serious, health issues.
Foods like yogurt and grains such as oatmeal are very low in sodium. When you eat a bowl of yogurt or a healthy bowl of oatmeal, try sticking to the plain Greek yogurt and avoiding flavored yogurt options as they contain sugar and can potentially be dangerously high. Or, start your day with a healthy and hearty bowl of oatmeal, which you can top with:
fruits
berries
nuts
cinnamon
All of those ingredients can be included in your oatmeal for added flavor. Oatmeal and yogurt are often some of the best foods to have for breakfast.
Lunch is a way that we all deal with our midday hunger pains. Often, people believe that a healthy lunch option the classic, soup, small salad and a sandwich. Normally, that would be considered a pretty healthy lunch, however, canned soups and breads can be loaded with salt, causing edema in the hands, feet and legs. A healthier option for lunch would be grilled veggies and mozzarella. You can buy fresh mozzarella, which is lower in salt than the firmer sliced type of cheese that is traditionally sold in packages or at the deli counter.
A lot of people may believe that if they eat a vegetarian meal, that the meal is low in sodium, though that may not necessarily be the case. A better bet on a low sodium dinner meal could even be a type of dinner that isn’t traditionally something that is low in salt. That would be a Roasted Mushroom and Beef Healthy Choice dinner. This dinner only has about 600mg of salt added.
Eating a diet low in doesn't have to be all that bad. Just remember, a low sodium diet is a heart healthy diet. And at the end of the day, heart healthy wellness lifestyle is all that really matters!