Patient/caregiver was educated on choice of foods for consideration on a renal diet as follows:
- Make healthier choices for low sodium content snacks, such as, some fresh fruit, roasted nuts without added salt, air-popped popcorn, a cup of yogurt, fresh raw carrots, celery sticks, and roasted chickpeas without added salt.
- Choose to have your vegetables, such as, peas, beans, lentils, legumes and all soups fresh, to avoid loading yourself with extra salt from canned foods. Even while choosing to pick canned vegetables from the aisle, pick the products with the label, reduced or low sodium.
- While picking broth and stocks, pick the products with the label, reduced or low sodium. While preparing them at home, by boiling bones or simmering meat, do not add any extra salt, to be compliant with low sodium intake recommendation.
- Bread and bakery products like pizza, sandwich buns, dinner rolls, biscuits, bagels, pancakes, waffles, pretzels, and tortillas are very rich in sodium content, due to the additives added in the baking process. Also, more salt is added to these products as topping. In addition to this, a lot of ingredients that go with pizzas & sandwiches, such as, cheese, sauces, pepperoni, and processed meat, are very rich in salt content and contribute further to increased salt intake. Choosing smaller portions of bread and bakery products and picking unsalted products can significantly contribute towards reduced sodium intake and compliance with low salt diet recommendation. Even while picking cereals, look for healthier choices of unsalted cereals.
