Tips To Cut Back on Salt and Prevent Its Harmful Effects

Follow these tips if you want to reduce salt intake and prevent the resulting attacks, strokes, etc.

We have always heard that too much salt in the diet is not healthy and we should avoid it as much as possible.

Most of us have long heard that it's best to go easy on the salt shaker. But a recent study has confused the issue somewhat.

According to the Heart Foundation, not only the older people but children also must avoid eating too much salt since it increases blood pressure and later in life increased the risk of heart diseases and stroke.

Therefore, it is advised to cut back on salt irrespective of your age, and here are a few tips that can help you do this.

Limit the Intake of Processed Food

According to the Food Standards Agency, UK, people consume 75% salt while eating processed food. However, there are companies who are coming up with items with less salt in them. One should see to the salt percentage that their processd food have. One should choose whole foods like fresh fruits and vegetables. Frozen and canned fruits will do as long as you remove the salty water from the canned fruits.

Say No to Condiments 

We always end up making our snacks and breakfast tastier by using more condiments and we do not realise how harmful can they be. Always try to dress your sandwiches and burgers yourself and try controlling the amounts of condiments or choose condiments that are lower in calories, fat, and sodium.

• 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar have 14 calories and 2 mg of sodium.

• 1 teaspoon of mustard has 10 calories and 100 milligrams of sodium.

• 1 tablespoon of pickle has 21 calories and 109 milligrams of sodium.

• 2 teaspoons of horseradish has 4 calories and 10 milligrams of sodium.

Cut Down on Processed Meat

As already said, an easy way to reduce our salt intake is to cut back on salty foods and choose whole, minimally-processed foods.

Processed meats like ham, bacon, sausages, smoked chicken, and smoked fish are high in salt. You can use other fillings instead of processed and smoked meats. These include chicken, tuna, egg, and hummus.

Avoid takeaways and try more home-cooked meals since. If you happen to eat takeaways one day a week, keep a check on your salt intake for the rest of the week.

Use Alternatives of Salt 

We always think that salt in processed food and takeaways is harmful and that salt in home-cooked food has nothing to do with our health. But you are wrong.

The only way to cut down on salt even in home-cooked food is to use other spices and products to add taste. You can add flavour to your meals by using herbs, spices and citrus (lemon or lime zest) dressings and vinegar instead of salt. You must know that stock, soy sauce, and miso all contain hidden salt so choose lower-salt versions if possible.

Slowly add less salt to your recipes and your taste buds will eventually adapt to the taste over time.

Check the Food Labels 

You can always use the Nutrition Information Panel to compare the food packages. You will find that similar foods from different companies have various levels of sodium, fats, protein, etc.

The best way to compare the food labels is to choose the ones with the least sodium and fat levels because less is best. Choose products that have the least amount of sodium per 100g.