Sodium-Potassium Party

Mar 11

Potassium is great for your heart, but many people aren’t getting nearly enough of it. In fact, potassium is listed as a nutrient of concern by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which means that most Americans are falling far short of the required levels of daily potassium consumption. On the flip side, most Americans are consuming way too much sodium, and we mean waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much sodium. While the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that people get no more than between 1500 and 2300 mg of sodium per day, many Americans are consuming upwards of 3000 mg per day.So why should we care about getting more potassium and less sodium? Well, according to Dr. Farley, New York’s health commissioner, “If you have too much sodium and too little potassium, it’s worse than either one on its own.”* This imbalance endangers your heart, and may even be linked to higher mortality rates.** The Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board recommend that people consume around 4700 mg of potassium every day. This indicates that an ideal sodium to potassium ratio would be about .31.Let’s take a look at a few foods and evaluate their sodium to potassium ratios.Menu 1: Fast Food Meal• McDonald’s Big Mac• Medium fries• Medium cola drink1130 calories, 48 g fat, 13 g saturated fat, 1.5 g trans fat, 1325 g sodium, 1051 mg potassium.Sodium/potassium ratio: 1.26Whoa! That’s way too high! This meal is very poorly balanced and packs too much of a sodium punch.Menu 2: Home-Cooked Meal• Salad with vinegar• Poached salmon with ginger• Baked potato• Tea, unsweetened372 calories, 7.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 81 mg sodium, 2017 mg potassiumSodium/potassium ratio: .04Now that’s more like it! If you’ve overdone it on salt at some point in the day, this meal can help bring you back in balance.Notice a pattern? The less processed meal had way less salt than the fast food option! If you choose lower-sodium, whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains that are low in sodium, beans/legumes, unprocessed meats and low-fat dairy you will get more potassium and displace other high-sodium foods.*Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/potassium-salt-diet-dangers_n_895124.html** Source: Arch Intern Med. 2011;171[13]:1183-1191.Brought to you by: TheNutritionEducationStore.com. Check out our Heart category for posters, PowerPoint Shows, games, and handouts that all discuss sodium, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and heart disease prevention.

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Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

Sodium-Potassium Party

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