There’s nothing better than cozying up to a warm pot of soup on the stove after a long, cold day,
but you wonder is canned soup bad for you? In many cases, it is, if only for the high amounts of sodium. We have found the best canned soup alternative to give you great nutrition into a bowl before you sit down to your favorite movie.
Is canned soup bad for you? Yes, if you count the sodium
In case you didn’t know, canned soup has TONS of sodium. In fact, some of our favorite canned soups will blow your mind. Chicken Noodle Soup, perhaps the best canned soup out there on the store shelves, has 890 mg of sodium PER Serving. If you’re downing the whole can, like a lot of us do, that’s 2,225 mg of sodium in one sitting. That’s almost hitting the 2,400 mg limit FDA suggest for sodium intake for an entire day. A lower-sodium version is available, but you’d still be eating over 1,000 mg in one can.
On average, Americans eat about 3,400 mg of sodium per day, according to the FDA.
Buy why should you care? There are a lot of reasons, even if you’re younger. Sodium is no bueno for your heart. According to Livescience.com, “Excess sodium increases blood pressure because it holds excess fluid in the body, and that creates an added burden on the heart.
“Too much sodium will increase your risk of stroke, heart failure, osteoporosis, stomach cancer and kidney disease. And, 1 in 3 Americans will develop high blood pressure in their lifetime.”
The FDA recommends people prepare their own foods when possible, as packaged sauces, mixes, and “instant” products (including flavored rice, instant noodles, and ready-made pasta) can come with a lot of sodium. That’s what makes it taste so good. This article by the FDA is a wealth of tips and information about sodium in your diet.
Cook your own soup for an easy, nutritious meal
So back to cooking that warm pot of soup over a stove. It may sound a little better now that you know you may be better off cooking foods for yourself. We have the perfect cold-weather soup that is chock full of nutrition, flavor and is low in sodium. In fact, it has 132 mg of sodium per serving. It’s called Vegetable Rice Soup.
And Bonus: This soup barely takes any time to cook. You could even dump the ingredients in a slow cooker in the morning, and it will be perfect by lunchtime.
The best part is it calls for FRESH, simple, ingredients like onions,
carrots and celery and basic seasonings.
Onions, for example, are extremely helpful for your body because they contain quercetin, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. It’s been shown to help combat inflammation, curb heart issues and may help stave off some cancers, to name a few.
If you’re so inclined, try a little cut up chicken to give you some more protein, or just sip this soup from a mug, and settle in. Happy cooking!
