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Sodium Infographics

Infographics (Information Graphics) are visual representations of data, information or knowledge that tell a story through visual communication. Below are a series of infographics related to sodium and sodium reduction. You can copy and paste the code to embed the Infographics in your Web sites, social network profiles, and blogs.

Reducing Sodium: From Menu to Mouth. Excess sodium can lead to high blood pressure, a major contributor to heart disease and stroke. Home prepared meals have less sodium than meals prepared in fast food or sit down restaurants. What Can You Do? Ask for sodium content before ordering, or check online before eating out. Home prepared meals have less sodium per calorie than meals prepared in fast food or sit down restaurants, on average.Food from fast food restaurants contains 1,848 mg sodium per 1,000 calories, on average. Food from sit-down restaurants contains 2,090 mg sodium per 1,000 calories, on average. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting sodium to less than 2,300 mg/day, and about 6 in 10 adults should further limit sodium to 1,500 mg/day*. Choose wisely to stay under 2,300 mg**. Top 6 Sources of Sodium from Restaurant Foods1,2: 1. 170 to 7,260mg sodium per sandwich. 2. 393 to 4,163mg sodium per slice of pizza containing meat. 3. 200 to 2,940 mg per burger. 4. 62 to 7,358 mg sodium per chicken entrée). 5. 250 to 4,870 mg per Mexican entrée. 6. 4 to 4,530 mg sodium per salad)* *Refers to those age 51 and older, and those of any age with high blood pressure, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease. ** Averages are for 2012–2013. 1 IOM Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake in the United States. 2 Sodium content was determined using MenuStat.org. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.




Reducing Sodium: From Menu to Mouth. Americans dine out almost 5 times a week. Knowing the amount of sodium in restaurant food is a challenge. Nearly 25% of the sodium in our diet comes from restaurant food. 5 strategiesto support sodium reduction in restaurant food: 1. Provide nutrition information at the point of purchase. 2. Make sodium reduction a part of training for restaurant licensing. 3. Make health department dietitian available to assist with nutrition support. 4. Incentivize sodium reduction through favorable changes to licensure and zoning requirements. 5. Create group purchasing organizations for savings on purchase of lower sodium items. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



Reduce. Replace. Reformulate. Reducing Sodium: From Menu to Mouth. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health partnered with more than 200 Chinese take-out restaurants to reduce sodium in their menus. They succeeded by: 1. Evaluating menu for sodium content; 2. Choosing lower sodium ingredients; 3. Developing lower sodium recipes; and 4. Cutting the amount of prepared sauces used in half. The result was a 20% reduction in sodium in some meals. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.




Tracking down the salt in food with Professor Saul T. Too much sodium increases your risk for high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is the leading cause of heart attack and stroke. By taking the right steps to reduce your sodium intake, your blood pressure can begin decreasing within weeks. About 90% of Americans eat more sodium than is recommended for a healthy diet. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that Americans consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. Sodium adds up, and sodium levels in the same food can vary widely. Fat free chips can have 180 milligrams per ounce; white bread, up to 230 milligrams per slice; ready-to-eat cereal, 250 milligrams per cup; chicken breast with added solution, up to 330 milligrams per 4 ounces. Foods that you eat several times a day can add up to a lot of sodium, even if each serving is not high in sodium. Read nutrition labels to find the lowest sodium options. A bowl of regular chicken noodle soup can have 840 milligrams of sodium, but lower sodium chicken noodle soup can have 360 milligrams. More than 75% of the sodium we eat comes from foods prepared in restaurants and processed foods (not from the salt shaker). Tips you can use to reduce sodium: Choose fresh, frozen (no sauce), or no salt added canned vegetables; know terms that commonly indicate higher sodium content, like “pickled,” “cured,” “brined,” and “broth”; follow the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan at http://go.usa.gov/p3C. For more tips on reducing sodium in your diet, visit http://1.usa.gov/13hJeTe. This infographic is brought to you by Million Hearts®, millionhearts.hhs.gov




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