How much salt do you consume? This is a question addressed exclusively to... strong solvers, as the answer may seem easy but it is not. This is because apart from the salt that we add to our pots and pans to spice up our daily food, there are other obvious or hidden sources that make the calculation almost impossible. Therefore, the immediate question is what should one do if one should or wants to reduce the amount of salt consumed?
The first advice given by the dietician-nutritionist of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition of the "Cleveland Clinic", Dr Julia Zumpano, is to reduce it in such a way that the taste of the food is not significantly altered. Otherwise, as she explains, the chances of success are limited.
But Dr Zupmano's "tips" don't stop there. Instead, she urges those interested to get paper and pencil and start calculating. "Most of us have certain eating habits that we usually follow on a daily basis. For example, we eat the same breakfast and dinner every day, snack on the same things and so on. Therefore, by recording in detail our diet for two days during the week plus the weekend, one can find out which are the most salty foods that we consume on a regular basis."
And it is important to point out that the ideal daily intake for healthy people is 6 grams per day - that is, one teaspoon of table salt or 2,400 mg of sodium. However, as a rule, adults far exceed this limit.
Guidelines[BR]-So the first decisive step is to avoid foods that contain too much salt. Typical examples are canned food (e.g. soups), snacks such as potato chips, shrimp, popcorn, prepared sauces (e.g. soy, teriyaki), frozen meals, pickles and olives, processed snacks (e.g.(e.g., salted nuts, crackers, etc.), as well as cured foods and deli meats.
-Homemade food is consequently the best way to control the amount of salt in your dish. In fact, the ideal would be to even knead the bread you eat, as 40% of your daily salt intake comes from commercial bread.
-And as sudden changes are often a "stumbling block" with many people eventually giving up, the expert suggests that the reduction should be gradual. How? If you put too much salt in food when cooking, reduce it by a quarter first. When you get used to it, reduce it by half. "It is not easy to cut the salt 'knife', especially when one eats a lot," explains Dr. Zumpano, because the food will look completely tasteless.
-Another important secret is to accompany the reduction of salt with the use of other herbs and spices to mitigate the loss of flavor. In this context, garlic, onion, basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, ginger, turmeric, hot peppers and lemon are, according to the expert, excellent and innocent sources of extra flavour.
- In addition, another... trick that helps the body is the consumption of potassium - a trace element that stimulates the elimination of salt. In addition, potassium acts completely opposite to salt - that is, it lowers blood pressure instead of raising it.
-Avocados, bananas, mushrooms, peas, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes and oranges should therefore play a "leading role" in the daily menu, as they are high in potassium.
-But even when ordering takeaway food, there are ways to limit the amount of salt. How? You can ask for no salt to be added during or after cooking. Also, sauces and dressings can be served separately from the food, with steamed vegetables, roasted potatoes or raw vegetables without salt as a side dish."
"The most successful way to reduce salt in your diet is to incorporate one of these tips into your life until it becomes a habit. Then you can add the next one," says Dr Zumpano. "This way you will soon be eating much less salt."
Source: in.gr
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