Know the Types of Salt in Foods

Important Information for Low-Sodium Diets

Mar 2, 2009

If you or a loved one must give up salt in the diet, you may not be aware of all the sources of sodium in the foods you eat. Learn the different types for your health.

Patients who are being treated for edema, pulmonary hypertension, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure and a variety of other diseases and conditions are usually told to reduce their sodium intake as much as possible. Sodium causes the build-up of fluid in the body, which places stress on the heart and lungs.

Sodium is an essential element in the human body and it is required for overall good health. It regulates muscle contractions and the balance of fluids, and is found in blood, saliva, tears, sweat, and lymph fluids. It is even a part of amniotic fluid.

However, if there is an excess amount of salt in the body, the kidneys must work overtime to remove it from the system. When kidneys fail to remove enough sodium and the heart cannot overcome this stress, fluids accumulate in the lower extremities and abdomen, around the heart, and in the lungs.

For a patient or caregiver responsible for providing healthy meals that are low-sodium or sodium free, the challenge is in finding products, recipes and menus that fit the new regime. It's not easy, because most of the sodium in our diets is put there by humans – whether in food processing, preserving, cooking, or at the table. Humans learn to desire saltiness while very young (baby foods are heavily salted to please a mother's adult palate) and as they grow up, they are encouraged by tradition, advertising, and habit to take in increasingly high amounts of salt until it becomes a craving – not a need.

In fact, it's not necessary to have more than 2000 milligrams of sodium daily (a teaspoon of salt equals 2400 milligrams) to remain healthy. But sodium comes in many forms, and without understanding these different forms, one can be easily confused and frustrated.

Familiar Sodium Types in Foods

These are some of the more commonly listed types of sodium in the products found in processed foods:

There are other types of sodium found in our foods, but these are the most widely seen in ingredient labeling.

Common Salts used in Cooking

Cooks encounter a variety of salts in recipes, and may be confused as to the differences and uses of such salts as Kosher salt, sea salt, and rock salt.

Kosher salt has coarse crystals, and is useful for curing meats because it dissolves quickly.

Sea salts are a product of the oceans, as apparent from the name. There are dozens of varieties from locations all over the world, including the coasts of Portugal, France, England, and North America. Every region produces slight variations in texture and taste, while scarcity and complexity of production influence their prices. Fleur de sel, for example, from France's Normandy coast, is prized for its earthiness, and is hand-harvested. Flaked sea salt from the Essex region of England, is also prized for its fine texture, delicate flavor, and scarcity.

Rock salt, which is mined from below the earth's surface, is not used to flavor food. Its most familiar use is for making ice cream in hand-cranked freezers, and for de-icing the sidewalk. It is coarse and gray in color.(Real Simple.com, "Six Types of Salt")

Ordinary table salt is usually fortified with iodine, which is a nutritional necessity for the body. Iodine deficiency is a major cause of mental retardation and can cause goiter, so that adding it to a commonly used condiment helps ensure public health at a low cost.

The copyright of the article Know the Types of Salt in Foods in Heart Healthy Cooking is owned by Barbara Bell. Permission to republish Know the Types of Salt in Foods in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.