Salt----Don’t Pass
It!!!!!!!
“Please
pass the salt” is a common and overused phrase.
We need to shake the habit. The taste for
salt is conditioned; as you use less of it, your tastes will change
so that you will enjoy foods more without it. Be
patient with yourself and your family but begin to cut back
gradually on your use of salt in cooking and eliminate completely
those snacks that are triple threats: high in salt, fat and
calories.
Salt’s chemical
name is sodium chloride—with sodium being the more important in
terms of health. Everyone requires some sodium,
but there’s more than enough naturally present in foods to supply
this requirement. Most Americans consume five to
twenty-five times more than they need.
Excessive sodium
is a factor in many diseases, the most prevalent being hypertension
and kidney disease. Excess salt cause temporary
build-up of body fluids in your system. This
makes if harder for your heart to pump blood through the
cardiovascular system, and the result may be high blood
pressure. About one in every five persons is
predisposed to this salt/blood-pressure connection, so it’s wise to
practice prevention and cut back on excess salt in your eating.
Accept the challenge: Learn to cook and enjoy
foods without added fat and salt! An ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure!
How to Shake the Salt
Habit:
- Cut back on your use of highly processed foods
and salty snacks. This will substantially
reduce your sodium intake.
- Leave the salt shaker off the table and
replace it with herbs and spices. This will
help break the “salt before you taste” habit.
You’ll quickly begin to enjoy the natural flavor of foods
without covering them with salt. Try
substituting herbs and spices for some of the salt.
- Cook with herbs blends rather than
salt. This will add new flavors.
Use one of the wonderful salt-free blends from your grocery
or try making your own. Keep the herb blends in
a large-holed shaker right by the stove where your salt used to
be. You can automatically cut a recipe’s salt
amount by half of what is called for. If you
use herbs in its place, you can cut the salt down to a quarter of
the original amount.
WATCH OUT
FOR THESE HIGH-SODIUM FOODS
1.
Any foods pickled or brine-cured, including sauerkraut, pickles and
olives.
2.
Any food salt-cured or smoked, including ham, bacon and sausage.
3.
Any cold cut, including bologna, hot dogs, pastrami and salami.
4.
Condiments, including soy sauce, ketchup and chili sauce.
5.
Convenience foods such as canned vegetables, soups and frozen
meals.
READING FOOD LABELS IS VERY
IMPORTANT, IT WILL HELP YOU LEARN MORE AND BE MORE EDUCATED ON HIGH
SODIUM.
You are the responsible one;
your health is in your hands!
