Q: I am a health conscious person and I want to know how much sugar and sodium should a person take per day? I would appreciate if you would please convert it into milligrams, because in my country, we are use milligrams as a the measuring unit on the nutrition label of each food products. I heard that Muscovado sugar and brown sugar is a healthier alternative to sugar than the refined white sugar. Is this true?

A:Sodium is a part of everyone's diet, but how much is too much? Under ideal conditions, the minimum sodium requirement is about 1,500 milligrams (mg) of sodium each day. This is less than 1 teaspoon of table salt. Keep in mind: 1/4 tsp. salt = 500 mg sodium 1/2 tsp. salt = 1,000 mg sodium 3/4 tsp. salt = 1,500 mg sodium 1 tsp. salt = 2,000 mg sodium Most of the sodium in processed foods is added to preserve or flavour them. Salt is the major source of this sodium. Salt is added to most canned and some frozen vegetables, smoked and cured meats, pickles and sauerkraut. It is used in most cheeses, sauces, soups, salad dressings and many breakfast cereals. It is also found in many other ingredients used in food processing. There are two categories of brown sugar: those produced directly from the cane juice at the place of origin and those that are produced during the refining of raw sugar. The first type includes a variety of molasses and syrups, demerara, muscovado and turbinado sugars. The second type is coated brown or 'soft' sugars, manufactured demerara, and a variety of refinery molasses and golden syrups. Muscovado Sugar: has 11 calories/ 4 grams (1tsp). Calorically it is the same as white sugar, but is also nutritionally rich & retains all natural mineral & vitamin content present inherently in sugarcane juice. It is best to restrict sugar intake to no more than 2-3 teaspoons per day per adult.