Several health food stores are located along Bloor Street West between St. George and Bathurst. I chanced into one the other day and asked the one staffer in the store whether they stocked any low sodium items. Her blank stare and subsequent reply showed me she had no knowledge whatsoever of what the word “sodium” meant in the dieting spectrum.
Losode has three times requested a policy statement from the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) on whether sodium content in restaurant meals is being studied. So far we have received no reply. One would have thought with an increasing attention to the hazards of excessive sodium, the CRFA would be studying means of presenting low sodium items on menus. But has the association yet given full attention to the obesity question?
On CTV News , May 11, Pat Foran, consumer commentator reviewed latest statement on sodium from the Heart and Stroke Foundation, already reported by LoSode (see below).
CTV’s May 12 web page contains a statement from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, south of the border, wich has released a report listing which restaurants pack their meals with sodium. Some of the offenders don’t have outlets north of the border but there seem to be plenty of chains with Canadian outlets on the CSPI hit list.
For instance Red Lobster’s Admiral’s Feast packs 7,016 mg of sodium into one meal, more than three times the Health Canada recommended limit of 2,300 mg. Other offenders ar KFC’s Half Chicken meal, Taco Bell’s Bean Burrito and the Beef ‘nCheddar sandwich at Arby’s.
Statistics Canada says the average Canadian consumes in excess of 3,100 mg of sodium a day.
When beginning this web site, and having heard that Heinz offers a no-salt ketchup we inquired of a consumer representative at Heinz Canada as to Can adian sources of this product. We were told that it wasn’t sold here.
We eventually obtained three bottles of No Salt Ketchup from the United States all of which carry on their labels the information that it is made in Canada and then shipped to the United States for distribution.
Isn’t it a pity that as Heinz Canada so blatantly trumpets the centennial of Heinz Ketchup you neglect to offer a product which helps meet the Health Canada recommendations for lower sodium levels in many foods. And next to Finland, Canadians are said to be the highest consumers of ketchup in the world.
Ben Viccari
www.losode.com
Shoppers Drug Mart Life brand products range from cosmetics to pain relievers to grocery. Ben Viccari was pleased to see on the shelf at his local Shoppers’, two reduced sodium Good for Life brand soups, tomato garden vegetables and beef vegetable soup at respectively 300 and 330 milligrams per cup, each can containing 540 milligrams. Shoppers’ head office advises us that a third, chicken noodle, is also currently being marketed.
The latest bulletin of the foundation has this to say on sodium in an article about its DASH program for healthy eating:
The second DASH study looked at the effect on blood pressure
of a reduced dietary sodium intake as participants followed either
the DASH eating plan or an eating plan typical of what many
Americans consume. This second study involved 412 participants.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two eating plans
and then followed for a month at each of the three sodium levels.
The three sodium levels were a higher intake of about 3,300
milligrams per day (the level consumed by many Americans), an
intermediate intake of about 2,300 milligrams per day, and a lower
intake of about 1,500 milligrams per day.
Results showed that reducing dietary sodium lowered blood pressure
for both eating plans. At each sodium level, blood pressure was
lower on the DASH eating plan than on the other eating plan. The
greatest blood pressure reductions were for the DASH eating plan
at the sodium intake of 1,500 milligrams per day. Those with high
blood pressure saw the greatest reductions, but those with prehyper-
tension also had large decreases.
Together these studies show the importance of lowering sodium
intake—whatever your eating plan. For a true winning combina-
tion, follow the DASH eating plan and lower your intake of salt and
sodium.
An interesting cheese derivative of Italian origin is now available from a number of Canadian cheesemakers and is available in supermarkets as well as specialty cheese stores.
Ricotta is a fresh, soft, snowy white cheese with a rich but mild, slightly sweet flavor. The texture is much like a grainy, thick sour cream. Ricotta is naturally low in fat, with a fat content ranging from 4 to 10 percent. It is also low in salt, even lower than cottage cheese. Since ricotta is made primarily from lactose-rich whey, it should be avoided by those who are lactose-intolerant.
Recipes using ricotta are to be found in wide variety on the internet as well as in Italian cookbooks.