What should patient eat in the following condition?
A nurse is reviewing laboratory results and notes that a client's serum sodium level is 150 mEq/L. The nurse reports the serum sodium level to the physician and the physician prescribes dietary instructions based on the sodium level.

Processed oat cereals-rationale: the normal serum sodium level is 135 to 145 meq/l. a serum sodium level of 150 meq/l indicates hypernatremia. based on this finding, the nurse would instruct the client to avoid foods high in sodium. low-fat yogurt, cauliflower, and peas are good food sources of phosphorus. processed foods are high in sodium content.test-taking strategy: first, you must determine that the client has hypernatremia. next, note the strategic word avoid in the question. eliminate options a and b first because these are vegetables. from the remaining options, note the word processed in option d. processed foods tend to be higher in sodium content. review foods high in sodium content if you had difficulty with this question.

The answer to this is D. From the various choices available, processed oat cereals will already stand out as the unhealthiest food item available because it is processed. The patient is recommended to avoid food products that are high in sodium and this is the food item that should be avoided. The other choices can actually be recommended to the patient.

The low-fat yogurt, peas, and cauliflower can be part of the patient’s diet because they do not have a lot of sodium. They also contain phosphorus which is needed by the patient. All types of processed foods should be avoided by the patient even if they seem healthy. At first glance, processed oats may be the healthy choice but its sodium content will be higher than the other choices.