Last week's Chicago Tribune published a long feature on our addiction to salt, which seems to be growing, despite the AMA's request that salt to be stripped of its "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) status. The article goes into some detail about why we are addicted, how salt is necessary for our bodies, and how cutting out excess salt could improve health. However, the most helpful part of the article is the list of simple ways to cut back on salt in your diet:
- Eat fewer boxed and canned foods.
- Use fresh meats instead of canned, cured, smoked or processed.
- Rather than adding salt during cooking, sprinkle it on at the table.
- Use fresh or plain frozen vegetables instead of canned.
- Rinse canned vegetables, which will remove sodium that was added during processing.
- Make your own salad dressing and marinades.
- Make your own stock and gravy.
- At restaurants, order grilled, baked, steamed or poached instead of fried, battered, smothered or gratineed.
Additionally, the article lists some common food items, both at home and in restaurants, that are veritable salt bombs.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-20-2006 @ 6:27PM
Dr. Electro said...
Always avoid Nicole's favorite, the pork brains in milk gravy. 1170% of the RDA for sodium.
Wow. Salt is an addictive substance. Who knew? I have really had difficulty weaning myself from the salt shaker. Now I have a clue why. I kicked the tobacco habit, now I have to kick the salt habit.
There are foods that taste just fine with no salt added. Many fresh vegetables taste better just as nature intended. Some meats on the other hand need a little extra kick to get past the bland stage.
Enter a wonderful alternative: Seasoned pepper. It comes in many varieties and brands. My personal favorite is Mrs. Dash Table Blend. It is good on everything except dessert. Have I thrown all the salt into the dumpster? Not yet but the day is coming!
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8-20-2006 @ 7:31PM
MJ said...
what would we do without salt. It is hard to season food after you cook it with no salt. Kosher and sea salt is better for you and more flavorful! All salts are not the same. I agree the less processed teh food the less salt. they salt up everything and most of the sodium you would not know was high beacause they put so much sugar in there too!! Read the labels to protect your health.
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8-20-2006 @ 9:36PM
Cornelia said...
Salt IS bad for us -- at least the highly refined kind that has been processed down to a simple sodium chloride molecule and had some pretty nasty stuff added to it to make it pure white and so it will "pour when it rains." Your body keeps wanting more and more "salt" because all the valuable minerals that occur naturally in unrefined sea salt are missing. Our bodies know what they need and refined salt ain't anywhere close. The extra price for unrefined salt is much cheaper in the long run than the disease and medications you'll need in the future to make up for what you've missed. Yes, it's gray or pink, and it clumps in humidity, but the taste is incredible so, as with fresh organic foods, you'll crave and eat less, but gain so much more when you're truly satisfying your biological and body chemistry needs.
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8-20-2006 @ 10:49PM
Billy Cea said...
We do love our salt don't we. In China though you'll never find salt on the table, vinegar, almost always, hot peppers, often, Salt never. Unfortunately though you just might find MSG on the table. That's right you might be unlucky enough to find MSG tableside at many small/local Chinese restaurants in China.
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