What Are Some Simple Ways To Reduce Sodium In My Diet?

1) Eat out less. Restaurant food is loaded with sodium. Eating out is fun but always keep in mind that a restaurant’s job is to make their food taste amazing so you want to come back again and again. Adding lots of fat, sugar and salt is how they make that happen.

2) Avoid processed and prepared foods. Fitness pioneer Jack LaLanne used to say “If man made it, don’t eat it”. The less processed the better.

3) Focus on whole foods in their natural form. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean proteins, legumes and whole grains are naturally low in sodium. These foods should make up the majority of your diet.

Breakfast Cereals Marketed To Children Are Getting Worse

The Study

Breakfast cereals are a common choice for school age children because they are quick and easy to prepare. This interesting study analyzed the nutritional quality of breakfast cereals marketed to children in 2010 and compared it to cereals marketed to children in 2023. 

The results were not great:

Total fat increased by 33.6%

Sodium increased by 32.1%

Sugar increased by 10.9%

Protein decreased by 14%

Fiber decreased by 23%

JAMA Network Open 2025;8:e2511699

Take Home Message

Breakfast cereals marketed to children have always been a nutritional disaster and seem to be getting worse. These are not a good choice for a young person starting their day. If you love cereal as a breakfast for your kid, old fashioned oatmeal, as a hot or cold cereal, is a much better option.

The Mediterranean Diet Pyramid At 30 Years

The Study

It has been 30 years since the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid was first published. A recent review article summarized the research examining the effect of this approach on a variety of health outcomes. In both randomized trials and cohort studies, this diet has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, total mortality, cancer mortality, stroke, type 2 diabetes and dementia.

 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2025;122:17-28

Take Home Message

The research literature has consistently shown the Mediterranean diet to be outstanding at reducing the risk of chronic disease. It is the diet I recommend to my clients and the one I consume myself and feed to my family.

The base of the Mediterranea Diet Pyramid consists of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and olive oil. These should be the most commonly eaten foods.

The next level up you find fish and seafood, which you can eat often.

After that comes poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt, which you eat in moderate portions.

The top of the pyramid is red meat and sweets, which are strictly limited.

 

A Tool To Measure Your 10 Year Risk of Heart Disease And Stroke

When it comes to heart disease and stroke, prevention is critical. Reducing cardiovascular risk factors with lifestyle change and/or medication is very effective at reducing risk. There is a really nice tool to assess your 10 year odds of heart disease and stroke that is free to use. It is called the ASCVD Risk Estimator and you can find it here:

https://tools.acc.org/ascvd-risk-estimator-plus/#!/calculate/estimate/

You will need a number of lab values to fill out this assessment, so make sure to have handy your most recent blood work. 

This includes: total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and blood pressure.

Once you plug in all of the data you will get a score that estimates your chance of having a cardiovascular event in the next 10 years. 

Here is what the number says about your 10 year risk of having a heart attack or stroke:

Less than 5% = Low risk

5-7.4% = Borderline risk

7.5-19.9% = Intermediate risk

Greater than 20% = High risk

With this information, you and your doctor can come up with a plan combining lifestyle modifications and medications to lower your risk and help prevent a cardiovascular event. Take advantage of this free tool and find out your ASCVD score.