• AA5B@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Sorry for awakening an old thread, but in case anyone reads it ….

    I just read some articles (sorry, no link) that puts some numbers on this. It claimed:

    • typical American gets 70% of their sodium intake from restaurant meals
    • typical American gets 11% of their sodium from adding salt
    • US RDA of potassium is about 10 bananas, so almost no one gets it
    • somehow I thought Chipotle had less sodium than other fast food, but one burrito is over the recommended limit of sodium

    So by far the best way to reduce sodium is to eat out less frequently. Reducing or substituting salt won’t make much difference, especially for those of us who don’t typically add salt

    Potassium appears to counteract sodium’s bad effects, but it’s difficult to get enough. Eating bananas or avocados won’t do it. Salt substitutes won’t do it

    There were also warnings that

    • too much potassium in salt substitute leaves a metallic taste
    • potassium can conflict with some high blood pressure medication