My DH was just put on a low sodium died, question is - would unsalted butter be better for him than like the Promise brand they served in the hospital ? I have never been too concerned but now I have to.
Also how about evoo - yes or no ?
As far as the Sodium (NaCl - Salt) content - no difference, Promise (which is an artificial butter flavored spread) and unslated butter both contain 0gm Sodium per serving.
Promise Buttery Spread contains 8g fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0g Trans fat and 0mg cholesterol per serving; Promise Light spread contains 5g fat, 1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat and 0mg cholesterol per serving (they didn't mention the Soduim content).
Unsalted Land O' Lakes butter (the one I use) has 11g fat, 7g saturated fat, 0g Trans fat, 30mg cholesterol, 0mg Sodium per serving.
The EVOO bottle that I have - 14g fat, 2g Saturated fat, 0g Trans fat, 0mg cholesterol, 0mg Sodium.
So - health wise (fat content and types of fats they contain) with nothing to do with salt (they are all 0 sodium) - EVOO, Promise, Unsalted butter in that order.
To LOWER the sodium content in DH's diet - stay away from canned foods (salt is a food preservative). Opt for fresh or frozen vegetables - and think about how you can add flavor by using herbs and spices to replace the salt. Also, ask the Doc for a target level for sodium reduction ... the current RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) is about 2,400 mg/day (about 1 teaspoon table salt).
Whatever you do -
DO NOT just grab the "salt substitutes" without looking at the contents first .... if they contain POSTASSIUM CHLORIDE (a different form of salt) they can be as deadly, or more so, than SODIUM CHLORIDE! It can result in something called hyperkalemia - another life threatening condition just as serious as hypertension. Talk to your DH's Doc first! If you want to use potassium chloride as a salt substitute the Doc may need to add a calcium suppliment to buffer it.
My uncle had congestive heart failure and I had to help my aunt learn to adjust her cooking style to reduce the salt content in his diet ... it wasn't that hard, and he never missed the salt - except for chips-n-dips while watching football or baseball on the weekends - but we worked that out, too.
That Campbell TV adv that is running about their low sodium sea salt breakthrough in their soup - I don't believe a word of it. Nope!
Yeah, me too! The only advantage of sea salt is the flavor of the minerals in it. It is just as "salty" as any other form of salt (NaCL). But - it does make for a good marketing gimmic for those who don't know anything about food, nutrition, chemistry, general science or cooking!