Reduce Your Sodium Intake

The Sunday Examiner, March 29, 2009

Despite recommendations to limit sodium intake to reduce or avoid high blood pressure, Americans are eating more salt than ever.
The average American consumes about 3,000-5,000 mg of salt each day. The recommendation for healthy adults is 2,300 mg, which is equal to about 1 teaspoon of table salt (sodium chloride). Those who have been diagnosed with high blood pressure are urged to reduce intake to below 1,500 mg. Many struggle with lowering the sodium in their diets, but is it really that hard? It all depends on your food choices.
Where is the salt?
Though we can all picture friends who blindly reach for the saltshaker, only 6 percent of the sodium we eat comes from what we sprinkle. A staggering 77 percent of the sodium consumed by Americans comes from processed and restaurant foods. About 12 percent is naturally occurring in foods and 5 percent is added when cooking meals at home.
Sodium is used as a preservative to keep foods fresher longer and to enhance flavor. Some reduced-calorie foods replace fat with sodium to make up for the reduction in flavor.
What to do?
Check the labels on all packaged and processed foods for listings of sodium content. Some of the more common high-sodium foods include: cold cuts, salad dressings, snack foods, processed cheese, and canned foods. Often, the more “ready-to-eat” a packaged food is, like frozen entrees or soups, the more salt it most likely contains.
When it comes to your daily diet, choose whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and low-sodium options when available.
High-sodium menu items at restaurants may be more difficult to spot, but many restaurant chains are posting their nutrition information on their Web sites.
VOCABULARY and COMPREHENSION
1. sodium (n) = A mineral in the body, which is often called '"salt". The kidneys help to control the amount of sodium in the body. Sodium helps to control the amount of water in the body.

In reference to diet and food, SODIUM is the salt content of food. It is usually given in terms of "sodium." For instance, the label of a can of soup may list "Sodium 400 mg" per cup. Excess sodium from high sodium foods like French fries is excreted in the urine. Having too much or too little sodium in a person's body can cause the body's cells to not work properly. ( http://www.womenshealthzone.net/glossary/s/ )
2. intake (n) means what?
a. things we know b. things we say c. things we eat

3. to consume (verb) Americans consume a lot of salt.
a. like b. eat c. hate

4. to diagnose (verb) = determine or distinguish the nature of a problem or an illness through a diagnostic analysis
Who usually diagnoses the problem? _____________________________________

5. a staggering 77% (adjective) means causing great astonishment, amazement, or dismay; overwhelming
How did you feel when you heard this amount?
I _______________ _________________________________________________

6. Examples of processed foods are (make a check√)
a. _____crackers b. _________ milk c. _______apples d. _______cookies
e._______ lunch meats (like bologna and salami and sausages) f. ________chicken
g. _______pickles h. _____bread i. ______rice j. ____tomatoes k. ____eggs

7. What other foods (from the reading) are high in sodium?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
8. Sodium is used as a preservative. (noun)
a. added to protect against decay
b. added to make it taste good
c. added to give it a nice color

9.to enhance (verb) = to improve something by adding features.

10. Foods you buy in the supermarket that say they have less fat, add salt to make them taste better. Write the sentence from the reading that means the same as this sentence:
_____________________________________________________________________
11. the entrée (noun) a. What part of the meal is the entrée?


b. What part is the appetizer? ________________________________________

c, What part is the dessert? __________________________________________

12. a chain (noun) Can you tell me the names of a few business chains?


13. to post on a website = to share content
What are fast-food restaurants posting on their websites?
______________________________________________________________________

14. legumes (noun) Examples of legumes are beans, peas, lentils, soya, & peanuts

15. whole grains See picture:
Examples: whole wheat, brown rice, oatmeal, popcorn, wholewheat pasta, corn, rye, barley
Whole grains are different from refined grains: white rice, white flour, pasta

GRAMMAR
1. MORE + noun than
Americans are eating more salt than ever.
I have more problems than before.
Dan drinks more Coke than he should.
2. LESS + non-count noun FEWER + count noun
My brother eats less salt and fewer cookies because he wants to lose weight.
He is making less money in his present job than he made in his last job

3. Write less or fewer with these nouns.
(You can use There is/there are/there was or there were in some of your sentences.)
a. ________________ movies
b. ________________ homework
c. ________________ vegetables
d. ________________ meat
e. ________________ water
f. ________________ jobs
g. ________________ American cars
4. Now write a sentence using the above phrases.
aa. ____________________________________________________________________
bb. ____________________________________________________________________
cc. ____________________________________________________________________
dd. ____________________________________________________________________
ee. ____________________________________________________________________
ff. ____________________________________________________________________
gg. ____________________________________________________________________
4. Despite is used with a noun in a phrase.
for example:
a. Despite the fact that I have a new job, I still can’t pay my bills.
b. In spite of the fact that I have a new job, I still can’t pay my bills.
c. Despite my new job, I still can’t pay my bills.
d. I still can’t pay my bills despite my new job.
the same meaning, but Even though , although , and though are used to introduce a clause
e. Even though I have a new job, I still can’t pay my bills.
f. Although I have a new job, I still can’t pay my bills.
g. Though I have a new job, I still can’t pay my bills.

aa. Despite my low-level of English, I am looking for a high-paying job.
bb. Even though I have a low-level of English, I am looking for a high-paying job.
YOUR TURN
A. Please try writing a sentence using DESPITE. Look at the examples.
__________________________________________________________________
B. Write a sentence using ALTHOUGH or EVEN THOUGH. (Don’t use BUT)


CONVERSATION
Talk to your partner and then write your answers.
1.How often do you look at the nutrition information on package labels?
Does that information influence you to buy or not to buy it?



2. Do you include legumes and whole grains in your diet? Which legumes do you eat? Which whole grains do you eat?

________________________________________________________________________