Food & BeveragesHealth

Tips for Truckers on Reducing Salt Intake

If you’re seeking tips for truckers on reducing salt intake, you’ve already taken a big step to improve your health. Lowering blood pressure for a DOT physical is vital in more ways than one. If it can’t be controlled you’ll be out of a job. Weight-loss is a huge help, but sodium is one of the leading causes of hypertension in OTR truckers. Just look at your restaurant options. These days you’ll find more fast food places at truck stops than quality restaurants.

No one wants to eat grilled chicken sandwiches and salads every day. It’s important to find real ways for truck drivers to lower salt intake. It coincides with real ways for truck drivers to lower blood pressure. Maybe you have to learn how to lower blood pressure to pass the DOT physical. In any case, you’ll improve your overall healthy by lowering salt intake.

Limit or Avoid These Foods When Reducing Salt Intake –

Some foods are disguised as healthy, but they’re loaded with salt. Just because it’s low-fat or labeled as low-calorie doesn’t mean that it’s a wise choice. Food manufacturers make up for a lack of flavor by adding tons of salt. Read the labels and you’ll see that I’m right. Avoid all processed foods if you’re a truck driver trying to lower blood pressure and/or salt intake. They’re full of sodium. The less processed foods in your diet the healthier you will be and the better you will feel.

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Foods to Avoid or Eat in Moderation:

  • Granola – it’s full of sodium, calories, and sugar!
  • Canned or dehydrated soup
  • Canned meals of all kinds (chili, ravioli, tamales)
  • Cottage cheese
  • Canned fish (sardines, prepared tuna)
  • Lunch meat
  • Bagels
  • Jerky
  • Salted nuts – sea salt is sodium too!
  • Salty snacks of all types
  • Ready-made dips and sauces
  • Salad dressings
  • Croutons
  • Salsa
  • Condiments (ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, hot sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce)
  • Crackers
  • Canned veggies – they lack vitamins anyway!
  • Ready-made breakfast sandwiches
  • Dry cereal
  • Smoked, dried, and cured meats
  • Ham

Contrary to popular (and erroneous belief), diet and regular sodas, are NOT typically high in sodium. Read your labels! People assume that soda is high in sodium because it’s what they’ve heard. They aren’t reading labels before passing along the information. However, I’m not including it on the ‘safe‘ list because it’s still unhealthy. It’s typically high in sugar and caffeine, and caffeine consumption can cause blood pressure spikes. Although I occasionally drink it, I still can’t promote it.

Tips for Truckers on Reducing Salt Intake: Choose These Instead –

  • Low-salt or salt-free nuts and legumes
  • Water – add lemon juice or fresh fruit for flavor
  • Fresh fruit chunks and slices – keep the slices fresh with a coating of lemon juice
  • Endless homemade meals – freeze and pack food storage containers in advance!
  • Greek yogurt
  • Brown rice
  • Unprocessed poultry
  • Whole wheat breads
  • Oatmeal
  • Hummus (read the labels!)
  • Homemade baked corn tortilla chips and pita chips
  • Oil and vinegar dressings
  • Fresh ready-to-eat veggies

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Start Carrying and Heating Your Meals –

Now that you have tips for truckers on reducing salt intake, consider making and packing your own meals. You can control the amount of salt in your diet if your meals are made from scratch. Freeze some of them in lidded heat-safe containers, and take others that are chilled but ready-to-eat. Take a look at the plug-in food warmer for truckers listed above. It provides an easy alternative for truckers to heat healthier food on the road.

Kim

Kimberly Dalessandro (a.k.a. Crystal Ray) began her online writing career in 2005 with PageWise Incorporated and went on to become a top writer for both Associated Content and Yahoo Voices under the pen name Crystal Ray. In early 2017 she launched Blue Crystal Sky ~ Everything Under the Sun. She is continually coming up with new ideas to share with the world.

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