Going Lo-Co

Are You Inadvertently Raising Your Heart Disease Risk?

Posted on January 4, 2018

Many people know that eating a lot/too much salt increases blood pressure and heart disease risk. I never paid much attention to this warning because I don’t over-salt my food and don’t even care for salty snacks.

I thought I was in the clear.

I was wrong.

It was while writing my new book, The Low Cholesterol Cookbook and Action Plan: 4 Weeks to Cut Cholesterol and Improve Heart Health, that I found I was inadvertently increasing my heart disease risk with salt. Millions of Americans (including me) unintentionally eat far too much salt because of prepared/processed food and restaurants. Here’s what I learned and included in my book:

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that “More than 75 percent of sodium Americans consume comes from processed and restaurant foods—not the salt shaker.” This is vital, because too much salt leads to high blood pressure, and having both high blood pressure and high cholesterol significantly increases heart disease risk. The AHA recommends the following amounts: No more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day for most adults. Ideally, no more than 1,500 mg per day for most adults.”

After a lot of research, I found that almost any meal you eat out will nearly guarantee you’ll go over 2,300 mg of salt in a day.

Sheesh.

The CDC posted this infographic highlighting the highest-salt foods in restaurants (in my book I include a list of what to order/not order at popular chain restaurants). The CDC advises both cooking at home more often and asking about sodium when eating out. While the ranges on the “Top 6” of this chart vary widely, it’s a safe bet to assume salt levels for most restaurant food you’ll encounter will be at the middle or high end, so it’s important to ask about salt in the preparation.

While I like to cook, sometimes (often) I don’t have the time or energy, so for me seeing pizza on this list was distressing. For years, I’ve thought my non-meat pizza, “light on the cheese” was a relatively heart-healthy choice, but both pizza dough and jarred sauces are/can be quite high in sodium.

When you are craving pizza and have the time to make it at home, try a homemade pizza. An easy, quick, delicious whole-wheat pizza is a great lower-salt option, with an extra bonus that it’s higher in cholesterol-lowering fiber than ‘regular’ pizza. Get the easy recipe and read more about how traditional pizza dough has DOUBLE the salt of whole-wheat pizza dough in my post, Whole Wheat Vegetarian Pizza.

And next time you are combing a restaurant menu for a low cholesterol (low in saturated fat) option, also check on salt levels. You may have to ask your server for lower salt options, but that’s a small price to pay for not exceeding the recommended daily salt intake in a single meal!

Rockridge Press has published The Low Cholesterol Cookbook & Action Plan in both traditional book and electronic formats. Click links below to link to the book on Amazon:

Paperback:  The Low Cholesterol Cookbook and Action Plan: 4 Weeks to Cut Cholesterol and Improve Heart Health

Kindle:  The Low Cholesterol Cookbook and Action Plan: 4 Weeks to Cut Cholesterol and Improve Heart Health