February is deemed American Heart Month by the American Heart Association. The website heart.org covers education on many heart-related health topics, including healthy eating, fitness and lifestyle tips, recipes, medical information about all things related to heart health and heart attack and stroke symptoms.

Heart disease is once again the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to a statistical report published Jan. 27, 2025. Cardiovascular diseases, which include heart disease and stroke, claimed more lives in the U.S. than all forms of cancer and accidental deaths — the second and third causes of death — combined.

High blood pressure is one of the major risk factors for heart disease. It occurs when the force of blood flowing through your blood vessels is consistently too high.

Where does the sodium issue come in? Sodium is a mineral that supports vital functions. It’s regulated by your kidneys and helps control your body’s fluid balance. Excess sodium in your bloodstream pulls water into your blood vessels, increasing the volume of blood inside them.

When more blood flows through your blood vessels, blood pressure increases. Increased blood flow makes the heart work harder to pump more blood through the body. Just like you, your heart doesn’t want to work harder.

The body needs less than 500mg of sodium per day to function well, and most people consume more than five times that. Most of the sodium in our diets comes from packaged and processed foods. Eating these foods less often can help reduce your sodium intake, lower your blood pressure and prevent high blood pressure from developing.

In the WCHI pantry, we aim to offer canned foods that are low in sodium as often as possible. We have one whole rack dedicated to low-salt or no-salt-added vegetables. We display the healthier items on the top shelves and encourage our guests to check the nutrition labels as they make their choices.

You can eat foods with varying amounts of sodium and still achieve a balanced, healthy diet. It just requires a little awareness to keep the balance.

Second Harvest Food Bank uses the guideline that 230mg of sodium per serving or less is low enough to put those foods in the “choose often” category. We suggest rinsing your canned veggies before cooking and adding your own salt or seasonings so you can keep your intake under control.

I found these interesting sodium myth-busters to share with you.

Myth — Sea salt has less sodium than table salt. Sea salt is popular, but it usually isn’t any less salty. Just like table salt, it typically contains 40% sodium.

Myth — My blood pressure is normal, so I don’t need to worry about how much sodium I eat. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300mg a day and moving toward an ideal limit of no more than 1,500mg per day for most adults. Even cutting back by 1,000mg a day can help improve your blood pressure and heart health.

Myth — I usually don’t salt my food, so I don’t eat too much sodium. More than 75% of the sodium people in the U.S. consume is estimated to come from processed and ready meals, not the saltshaker. That’s why it’s important to compare nutrition facts labels and serving sizes.

Learn more from the American Heart Association at heart.org.

Editor’s note: This column was written by Jenn Dietz, HCPI chair and pantry co-manager.