VANCOUVER -- How much sodium should we be consuming in a day? Did you know that almost every pre-packaged food we buy has sodium in it – even sweets. Too much sodium is not good for us.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadians consume a lot sodium. More than 85 per cent of men ages 19 – 70 and more than 60 percent of women of the same age range, consume far more than what is considered to be the upper limit of the daily intake.

Most sodium intake is consumed from table salt. Persons in the age range of 9 – 50 should consume no more than 1,500mg of sodium per day and reduces to 1,300mg per day after the age of 51.

According to a 2004 Statistics Canada finding, Canadians’ daily sodium intake far exceeds the daily recommendation. Too much sodium can cause hypertension. Statistics Canada states, “When sodium intake rises in susceptible individuals, blood pressure tends to increase. Hypertension is usually diagnosed sometime after age 31; in the 2004 CCHS — Nutrition, 6% of 31- to 50-year-olds reported having been diagnosed with high blood pressure. For the 51-to-70 and 70-or-older age groups, the estimates rose to 27% and 47%, respectively.”

Across the country, Canadians’ diets are too high in sodium. In particular, British Columbia and Quebec stand out as the highest of all. Statistics Canada states, “In Quebec and British Columbia, the 2004 average daily intake for residents aged 1 or older was more than 3,300 mg versus 3,092 mg for Canadians overall.” This is more than double the average recommended daily intake for Canadians.

These are startling and disturbing facts! So how can we reduce the amount of sodium in our diets? The main sources of high sodium are processed foods. Even if you do not add salt to your food at the dinner table, if you like pizza, burgers, hot dogs or chips, you are looking at consuming at least 20 per cent of your daily recommended intake in just one serving size. And when do we ever eat just one serving of these items?

When grocery shopping, be discerning. Read the label of everything you buy that is pre-packaged. Things like pasta sauce, soups and deli meats all contain high levels of sodium in them. Look for labels that say “low sodium” or “sodium free”. Sodium free items have less than 5mg per serving and low sodium items have 140mg or less. Think of it this way per serving: 0-200mg is okay; 200-400mg risky; and 400mg or more is too much.

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Internet site reference: http://www.examiner.com/diet-and-exercise-in-vancouver/sodium-how-much-is-too-much