Enjoying Life While Managing Heart Failure

CHAPTERS

Sodium in your Diet

Explore how sodium (salt) can impact your heart health. Learn about common foods where salt is found. Dive into tips on how to lower your salt intake.

Food for your heart and soul

Food is another daily choice with a huge impact on your heart health. Sodium plays a very important role.

Lowering your intake of sodium (salt) helps prevent swelling in your body to ease heart related symptoms. Extra fluid buildup between the heart and the sac surrounding the heart can make the heart work poorly. If you have episodes of fluid buildup, it is recommended not to consume more than sodium intake 2000 mg per day.

Healthy Eating

Almost half of the sodium we eat comes from very common foods:

  • Breads and rolls
  • Cold cuts and cured meats
  • Pizza
  • Poultry
  • Soups
  • Vegetable Juice
  • Sandwiches
  • Cheese
  • Pasta
  • Meat
  • Snacks

How can I eat less sodium?

  • Check the amount of salt you eat every day
  • Read food labels for sodium content
  • Beware of processed foods that have a lot of sodium
  • When eating out, ask the server which dishes are low in salt or ask if chef can prepare the meal without salt
  • Seek the help of a dietician or health care professional
  • Remember fluids in soups and vegetable juices can contain sodium
Salt shaker being poured onto food, indicating where sodium comes from in a typical diet
Measuring spoons containing different seasonings

Sodium in Seasoning

  • There is as much sodium in sea salt and Kosher salt as there is in regular table salt. Limit these just like you limit table salt.
  • Choose no salt seasonings such as Mrs. Dash products.
  • Salt substitutes: Ask your healthcare team if these are okay for you to use.
  • Stay away from flavored salts, lemon pepper, garlic salt, onion salt, meat tenderizers, flavor enhancers, bouillon cubes, ketchup, mustard, steak sauce, and soy sauce
  • Choose onion powder or garlic powder instead of garlic salt
  • Fresh herbs have no salt

Reading Food Labels

Here is an example of a food label for canned tomatoes that shows the difference between regular sodium and low sodium. Notice the servings and serving size are the same in each can. The food label tells you how much sodium is in one serving.

A good rule of thumb is to try not to eat anything that has over 150mg of sodium in 1 serving.

Example nutrition guide with serving size and sodium highlighted
Regular Canned Tomatoes
Example nutrition label with serving size and sodium highlighted
Low Sodium Canned Tomatoes
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Enjoying Life While Managing Heart Failure

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