How To Reduce Salt In Your Diet
Even though salt is essential for life; sodium helps in muscle relaxation and contraction, enables the conduction of nerve impulses, and maintains a healthy balance of the body’s fluids and minerals. However, too much is dangerous. High blood pressure, osteoporosis, heart failure, heart attack, kidney disease, stroke, and migraines are just some of the health issues that can result from ingesting too much sodium.
Our bodies only need about 500 mg of sodium a day to do important things, but most of us get a lot more than that. So, here are some ways to cut down on the amount of salt we eat.
Don’t Eat Processed Food
Processed food contains a lot of salt, and we eat a lot of it. One of the quickest and easiest ways to reduce the amount of salt in our diet is to choose healthier, fresher options instead of the processed food we might normally opt for. The issue, of course, is that processed food tastes good and it’s convenient, so it’s not always easy to give it up, even if it’s very bad for our health.
If this is the case for you, it’s worth noting that many common items now come in reduced-sodium varieties. These meals may not taste exactly the same, but they are a healthier alternative to their high-sodium cousins. Spices like garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and cumin can be used to improve the flavor of recipes that have less salt.
Rinse Canned Goods
Some canned foods have less sodium after being rinsed. You can also reduce the amount of sodium in a single serving by mixing full- and low-sodium items. To prepare canned beans for use, for instance, drain and run them under cold water. You could also make soup with a combination of conventional chicken stock and sodium-free broth from two separate cans.
Don’t Add Salt
It can become a habit to add salt to your food when you’re cooking or even when it’s served up – often before you’ve tasted it to see if salt is really needed. This habit can be having a detrimental effect on your health.
Make it a new habit not to add salt to your cooking but to use salt substitutes instead, like the ones we mentioned above. Plus, think about what you’re cooking – it might be that you don’t need to add any additional flavorings at all anyway. A good example is this oven roasted garlic recipe – any recipe containing garlic will usually not need any extra salt.
Read The Labels
When compared to eating out, you have more control over salt when you cook at home; however, you still need to be careful and check labels. Sodium can be found in unexpected places, including in meals with no discernible saltiness. If you eat a lot of processed foods, you may be unknowingly consuming excessive amounts of sodium. Fruits, vegetables, meat, unsalted nuts, and whole grains are examples of unprocessed foods that are low in sodium or sodium-free. Try to use these ingredients more in your cooking to help reduce your salt intake.
