How to use less salt

The World Health Organization has determined a safe daily serving of salt for an adult: no more than 5 g, which is about 1 teaspoon^[1]. However, studies show that not many people adhere to this recommendation in practice. Let’s say the average European consumes almost 10 grams of salt daily and doesn’t even realize it.^[2]. Meanwhile, doctors remind that if you consume this amount of salt daily, the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease increases by 25%.^[3]. And this is only one of the possible dangers of excessive passion for salt. No wonder salt is called white death. Of course, this does not mean that people should completely give up salt. From 3 to 6 g of table salt per day, not only will not harm the body, but will also be beneficial. The only thing doctors ask is to control the amount of spice in the diet. How to do it – read below.

Salt and sodium in foods

When they say that it is necessary to limit the use of table salt, they primarily mean sodium. It is from it and chlorine that the spice consists. Excess sodium in the body contributes to fluid retention in tissues, impairs blood circulation, and increases the load on the heart and kidneys. Studies say salt abuse is especially dangerous for people with heart or kidney failure, hypertension^[1][4]. In addition, an excessive passion for salt is a direct way to leaching magnesium, calcium and potassium from the body.^[5].

So, only 1 teaspoon of salt contains approximately 2 g of sodium, and this is almost the daily norm of a macronutrient. But in addition to table salt, sodium stores are found in many other unsalted foods. For example, according to the USDA, a glass of milk is almost 0,4 g of this chemical element.^[6], and the same amount of unsalted tomato juice already contains 0,5 g. And even in 1 slice of bread there is 0,23 g of sodium. In addition, salt in certain portions is contained in almost all prepared foods, even in sweets. Many nutritional supplements are also rich in sodium. So it turns out: if you calculate everything, most of us consume much more of a macronutrient per day than the body requires. Of course, we cannot influence the chemical composition of pastries or sausages, but still there are many tricks with which you can limit the use of salt, and therefore sodium.

An easy way to reduce your salt intake

It is clear that if a person has been eating very salty all his conscious life, then it will not work to rebuild his body in one day – all food will seem insipid and completely tasteless. But if you set yourself the goal of bringing your salt intake back to healthy levels in, say, three weeks, then the restructuring will go more smoothly and efficiently.

Of course, this time can be reduced and switched to low-salt in a week or today, but the researchers say that, on average, 66 days is the best period for a gradual change in gastronomic habits without stress for the body.^[7][8]. As various studies show, 2 months is the optimal period in order to develop a new habit, get used to living by new rules, including a certain nutrition system. And during this time it is easy to accustom yourself to what will be discussed next.

How to avoid excess salt: practical tips

Read product labels

If you are trying to reduce the amount of salt consumed per day, then you must definitely pay attention to food labels, in particular, the chemical composition of food. You should be interested in two components – the actual salt and sodium. The more of them in food, the worse.

Avoid fast food

“Just add boiling water” foods are a poor choice for people who want to limit their salt intake. Instant soups and purees usually contain not only pure table salt, but also many food additives that contain sodium. Studies show that a serving of the popular instant chicken noodle soup contains 1 g of sodium.^[9]. Refuse these products and the salinity of the daily diet will noticeably decrease.

Give preference to homemade food

Nowadays, ready-made food from the supermarket has won the hearts of many. Still would! You can not waste time cooking, but buy whatever your heart desires at the nearest supermarket. True, nutritionists say that this is a very dubious purchase and voice many complaints about such food. The quality of ready-made meals from stores is a topic for a separate discussion, but for now let’s talk about salt. As a rule, ready-made purchased food is more salty than the homemade version of similar dishes. The reason, again, is the use of seasonings rich in sodium. By the way, it is almost impossible to control the amount of sodium when eating purchased food, since you will never know which food additives and in what quantities the manufacturer used.

Add salt to an already prepared dish, not during cooking

It would seem: what’s the difference? But as practice shows, this little trick actually works. The reason is more banal than one might think. If you salt the finished dish, then during the tasting, the salt immediately comes into contact with the taste buds and the brain instantly receives a signal about salinity. In food flavored during cooking, the taste of salt is not so pronounced, and the human body, accustomed to very salty, may not immediately recognize the taste of the dish.

Choose coarse salt

Scientists from the American Heart Association studied the composition of different types of salt and found that sea salt is healthier than regular table salt.^[10]. Natural sea salt has a richer chemical composition and a slightly lower percentage of sodium. But it is even more useful if you choose coarse-grained options. The larger the crystals, the more residual moisture they contain, which means the richer the chemical composition and the less sodium.

Rinse canned vegetables

Marinades and pickles are always very salty. National Geographic author and editor Barbara Sieber, in her article “Seven Ways to Reduce Salt and Lower Blood Pressure,” advises rinsing canned foods under running water before eating them to reduce the amount of salt^[11]. Although if you want to minimize salty in the diet, then it is better not to use canned food at all, but to replace them with fresh products.

Avoid Grilled Chicken and Processed Foods

There are probably no people who would not like baked chicken with a fragrant crispy crust, and even in the company of ketchup and salted vegetables. But for the body, such a food set is a horse serving of salt. If you replace the purchased grilled chicken with a poultry pickled and baked at home, then there will be much less salt in it. In addition, the body will definitely appreciate it if you offer it a fresh salad instead of salted vegetables, ketchup and mayonnaise.

By the way, according to researchers, almost 70% of the salt we get from processed food. Therefore, it is useful to replace sausages, ham, sausages with a piece of natural boiled or baked meat, smoked fish – boiled, baked or fried, instead of bacon or salami, you can put a slice of nutritious turkey or chicken on a sandwich. Also, do not get carried away with salty cheeses, it is better to give preference to cottage cheese. Nutritionists advise pizza lovers to cook it on their own with the addition of boiled meat, unsalted cheese, vegetables, mushrooms.

Forget about ready-made sauces and salad dressings.

They are, of course, for the most part quite tasty, but not the most useful. Instead of a store-bought salad dressing, make your own with a unique recipe and no extra salt. Think homemade dressing tastes better than store-bought dressing? Then try to prepare the sauce according to this recipe. Mix 1 teaspoon of any vegetable oil and vinegar (balsamic, wine or any other). Add half a teaspoon of honey, brown sugar or syrup and the same amount of mustard (any kind) to the mixture. Then season everything with two pinches of spices (a mixture of Provencal herbs, thyme, dill, basil, rosemary or others) and one pinch of spices (black and / or red ground pepper, garlic). In principle, this dressing can no longer be salted, but even if you add a pinch of salt, then in the finished homemade sauce it will still be less than in most purchased ones.

The same rule applies to meat sauces. An equally tasty, but not as salty alternative is berry sauces with apple or balsamic vinegar, which go well with meat dishes. By the way, a few drops of balsamic vinegar can give the dish a deep flavor, and lime juice can add a spicy note. Sauce for marinating meat can also be prepared independently, moreover, without excess salt. For example, from citrus juice (lemon, orange, lime) and natural spices (thyme, coriander, paprika, chopped garlic or onion).

Eat more potassium-rich foods

Nature intended that our bodies maintain a certain balance of sodium and potassium. That is, if the amount of sodium in the body increases, then the concentration of potassium decreases. And vice versa. Therefore, to remove excess sodium from salty foods, scientists advise eating plenty of fruits and potassium-rich vegetables (bananas, spinach, sweet potatoes)^[5].

Replace salt with herbs

The range of herbs is incredibly wide. Using them separately or combining them, you can create unique compositions, each time making the dish unique. Even the most common dill, parsley, celery and green onions can dramatically change the taste of food. In addition, dill and parsley go well with many sauces and meats. Rosemary and basil are almost universal spices and go well with most dishes. Thyme is a good addition to marinades and seafood, while tarragon is recommended to add to poultry, egg dishes and sauces. If boiled chicken breast is seasoned with red pepper and a set of Hungarian spices, it will get a taste of bacon. Ginger goes well with almost all Asian dishes, basil should be added to Mediterranean recipes, and cumin should be added to Mexican and Indian dishes.

Spicy herbs not only improve the taste of dishes, but contain an incredible amount of substances useful for the body. In particular, marjoram, cloves and cumin are leaders in the content of antioxidants and phenols, which prevent inflammation and even cancer.

And a few more secrets:

• do not put a salt shaker on the dining table – removing the salt from your field of vision, you will be less likely to remember the spice (many people add salt out of habit, without even trying it);
• during cooking, salt the food not by eye, but measure the exact amount of spice and gradually reduce it;
• limit salty snacks in the diet (chips, crackers, salted nuts);
• avoid foods containing monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, sodium sulfite, sodium benzoate, and others;
• replace sausages and other meat snacks, herring, canned food with natural meat and fresh fish;
• to improve the taste of lightly salted meat, fish or salad, you can use lemon juice (sprinkle with a few drops just before use).

Why do we love salty

As we said at the beginning of this article, table salt is primarily sodium, which is indispensable for the human body. Therefore, nature made sure that a person likes food rich in this macronutrient.

In most cases, if the hand automatically reaches for the salt shaker, this is nothing more than a habit. Bad habit. But sometimes there may be other reasons for wanting to add salt to food. For example, in this way the body can signal a deficiency of calcium, magnesium, zinc and some other minerals. Tellingly, in this case, the craving for salty foods will not go away until the balance of the missing micro- and macroelements is restored in the body. But it is clear that it will not be possible to eliminate the deficiency by the forces of table salt alone, but it is easy to get side effects from its abuse. If the craving for salt is caused by a lack of minerals, then it’s not the extra portions of the “white death” that will help, but nuts, seeds, whole grains and seaweed (contain many micro and macro elements). When the mineral balance is restored, the excessive love of salt will pass.

The second possible reason for salt cravings may be dehydration. Since salt helps retain moisture in the tissues, the body is saved from dehydration. In addition, scientists at Harvard University claim that cravings for salt may indicate adrenal disease.^[12]. If so, then in addition to special gastronomic requests, a person may feel weakness and chronic fatigue, and bags appear under the eyes. In this case, only a doctor can help.

Salt is a necessary addition to almost every dish. It emphasizes the taste of the product, makes it more expressive. In addition, salt is essential for the proper functioning of our bodies, but too much of it in the diet can be hazardous to health. As you already understood, limiting the use of salt does not mean completely abandoning it. Sometimes just giving up unhealthy snacks is enough to restore balance. And also do not forget that homemade food can be cooked almost without salt and at the same time it will not become less tasty.

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