Nutrition Question

High sodium levels are something to watch. They typically mean the food is highly processed.

Which foods are you speaking about specifically?

Cheese
Meat (cold cut)
Salsa (mixing with tuna)
Crackers

I can list more with some thought.

Cheese in moderation is fine.

Stay away from cold cuts if possible and use real turkey, chicken, etc.

Salsa is prob not used in large enough amounts to make sodium a concern.

Crackers have very little nutritional value.

i guess we shouldn't be surprised when we take the time to read the labels and find out the content is high in sodium. i've read that the avg person takes in 60x more sodium than the minimum daily allowance. i also remember reading that a little sodium in your sports drink is okay if you are participating in endurance sports.

What about rice? I read the labels on rice at work, and all the brands seem to be very high in sodium.

what kind of rice? from what i've read, whole grain rice is best (ie brown rice, wild rice, barley). stay away from refined grain rice (white flour, milled rice, milled corn).

All the rice I'm talking about is wild grain, but it has flavoring to it like chicken, spanish rice, dirty rice, etc.

Stick to whole grain rice or wild rice that does not have flavoring added to it. That's where the sodium comes from.

Even though sodium in large quantities can be harmful, remember, it's still essential to the athlete as an electrolyte. Personally I've experienced cramping from a lack of sodium...when eating clean (really) make sure you're eating your salt.

Celtic Sea Salt is great for athletes. Celtic Sea Salt is totally unprocessed and contains a lot of vital trace elements. A pinch in the morning of a hot game day and maybe another pinch half way through the day helps prevent heat cramps. Believe it or not, its only about $5 for a bag that will last a whole season. You can get it through the mail at the site below, or a health food or natural grocery store.

http://www.celticseasalt.com/Celtic_Sea_Salt_reg_Brand_-_L_P767C8.cfm

quote:

Originally posted by Jon Doyle:
Salsa is prob not used in large enough amounts ...

Where are you from? Up north or something???

Oh. You are from up north. Never mind...