Hemodialysis patients need to follow sodium restricted diet, and that doesn’t mean reducing the usage of white table salt only, but means reducing the intake of sodium overall. And “SODIUM” is a mineral that is find in the table salt and also used as preservatives in processed and canned food.

Reducing the sodium will help in reducing blood pressure, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and reducing fluid overload and weight gain between sessions.

It’s very important to know that the accepted daily intake of sodium is 2g (2000 milligram), which equal to the sodium amount in one teaspoon of table salt.

There are so many hidden sources for sodium in our food, in which sodium is used as preservatives, such as; chicken broth cubes, canned vegetables, ready soup mix, processed meats, ready spices mix, corn flakes, frozen meals and frozen pizza. In addition to that, try always to read the ingredients of any food product, and if you find “MSG” or “E621” or “Monosodium glutamate”, that means the product is very high in sodium, So Don’t Buy it!!

Here are some tips to reduce the sodium intake:

• Reduce table salt, instead add herbs and fresh spices to improve the taste.
• Avoid canned vegetables, instead depend on fresh vegetables or frozen vegetables.
• Avoid ready to made soup, instead prepare the soup from fresh ingredients.
• Avoid ready mix spices, instead prepare your home-made spices mix.
• Avoid frozen meals, instead prepare your meals at home from fresh ingredients.