Low Sodium Snacks

Choosing low sodium snacks as a replacement for foods that are overly processed and packed with salt is a great way to improve your health. Excess sodium in your diet can create stress within the body, driving it to hold unnecessary amounts of fluids. When you ingest too much sodium, you tend to feel waterlogged retaining fluids in various locations such as your ankles, hands, belly, feet, and lungs. People struggling with disease of the kidneys, heart, or liver should be especially attentive with the levels of salt they take in on a daily basis. With all this in mind, you can see why it's a good idea to stock up on low sodium snacks as alternatives.

Before listing off some delicious products that can be consumed with a clear conscience, an explanation of the FDA guidelines for food labels is in order:

• A product that is labeled sodium-free may have less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving, but nothing beyond that.
• Labels which declare the product to be very low sodium may contain no more than 35mg of sodium per serving.
• Low sodium products can contain up to 140mg in a single serving.
• Unsalted, no salt added or without added salt foods are produced without additional sodium as an ingredient in the process; however they may contain natural sodium which exists as a part of the food itself.

Now for some low sodium snack suggestions!

Of course fruits and vegetables are at the top of this list! They are the Earth's natural guilt-free snack! Help yourself to some plain old apples, bananas, and celery for a filling, fiber packed, low-sodium treat.

This filling snack only has 20mg of sodium per serving. The primary ingredient is organic popcorn. Additionally, you are sure to take in 5g of dietary fiber per serving, along with 3g of protein. All these benefits go hand in hand with its fabulous flavor.

Newman's Own makes delicious popcorn!

If you're a big fan of canned soups, then take a look at the nutrition labels on some of Health Valley selections. They come in a multitude of organic, no salt added varieties. If you're heart lies in a classic cup of chicken noodle soup, but you simply can't afford the tremendous amounts of salt that accompany it, give Health Valley's No Salt Added Chicken Noodle Soup a try. It contains organic ingredients and has 135mg of sodium per serving.

That's correct. There are chips in the universe which are prepared without additional salt! In fact, Kettle Chips Unsalted have zero milligrams of sodium per serving. One serving does contain two grams of fiber, however. The simple list of ingredients is as follows: select russet potatoes and expeller pressed high monounsaturated safflower and/or sunflower oil. Now you can eat chips while avoiding the salt!

Hopefully the snacks mentioned earlier have inspired you to keep your eye open for delectable alternative high-sodium foods. Here are a few more points to consider when avoiding sodium:

• Choose fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables without salt added. This is a good alternative to canned fruits and vegetables that use salt for taste and preservatives.
• Try to reduce the amount of processed foods in your diet.
• Keep the salt shaker hidden. A single teaspoon of table salt contains an average 2200mg of sodium!

• Top Ten Worst Foods
• Fruits and Vegetables that Lower Blood Pressure
• Diet for a Pear Shape
• Fast Food Statistics
• Healthy Food Myths Quiz

• The Lemonade Diet
• Weight Watchers Points Calculators
• 1200 Calorie Menus
• Weight Watchers Points
• Weight Watchers Restaurant Points

• Low Sodium Diet
• DASH Diet
• Diabetic Recipes: Soups
• Main Page
• Diet for Heart Surgery Patients