Less salt when cooking doesn’t mean less flavor. You can always add some herbs and spices instead. Your taste buds will barley notice the difference but your heart will surely do! 😀
I know a lot of people who add salt to their meals without even tasting the food!
High amounts of salt, known as sodium in your diet is unhealthy on a number of levels. It causes hypertension, heart diseases, water retention , weight gain, stomach ucer and stomach cancer. It is also not convenient for people suffering from kidney problems.
Small amounts of sodium present naturally in the food are good for us. We need this mineral in small amounts, to compensate for the sodium loss that usually occurs when we sweat and urinate.Too little can cause spasms (sudden contraction of muscles), poor heart rhythms, sudden death and even increases the risk of heart attack in hypertensive patients.
Just how much salt do we consume?
According to the Food and Drug Administrations, the average salt intake is 1 teaspoon a day, which is a daily quantity of 2,400 milligrams
High sodium intake becomes unhealthy when we start to include it in almost all our meals or drinks.
There are several ways to cut down on salt intake, such as avoiding processed foods, reading food labels before purchasing, planning home-cooked meals instead of ordering from outside.
But some foods have hidden salt content, and you should be aware of that!
Here are some common terms and their meanings:
- Sodium-free – less than 5 milligrams of sodium per serving
- Very low-sodium – 35 milligrams or less per serving
- Low-sodium – 140 milligrams or less per serving
- Reduced sodium – usual sodium level is reduced by 25 percent
- Unsalted, no salt added or without added salt – made without the salt that’s normally used, but still contains the sodium that’s a natural part of the food itself
According to the The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture state, food that has the claim “healthy”, must not exceed 600 mg sodium per labeled serving size.
1- Breakfast cereals:
They may be sweet with health benefits but may contain high levels of sodium! Read the label well!
2- Bread:
The best option will be the brown of course or the whole wheat. But other healthy breads might contain high amounts of sodium like bagels, white baguette, French toast, or chapatti.
Check the label!
3- Cheeses:
Cheeses can be very high in sodium if we consume the wrong kinds. Usually all kind of cheeses are high in salt, from white to yellow to processed ones.
So be cautious about the right choices, choose the cheeses that say “low in sodium”! Low-fat cheeses are not necessarily low in salt!
4- Soups:
Many canned and instant soups contain more sodium than the soup we make at home. At least, when we prepare our own soup, we are aware of how much salt we are adding, so we can control it.
Again, check the label and look for the least sodium content!
5- Soya Sauce:
When we say Soya sauce, it means sushi. But do you know that you can turn a super healthy sushi meal into a high blood pressure one?
Usually, the light Soya sauce means the low-sodium sauce. So go for this option! Seafoods are already high in sodium, so no need to add extra salt to it!
6- Pasta sauces:
Pasta sauces contain a lot of sodium, specially the canned tomato sauces.
Look at the label for the least amount of Na before buying the product. Another solution is to make your own sauce at home.
REMARKS:
Any drink or soda (Pepsi/cola/ seven up) containing sodium, sodium glutamate, monosodium glutamate, sodium citrate should be consumed occasionally.
According to the mineral water, look for the least sodium content:
2 to 4 mg of Na is considered a good range.
I mentioned before the ULRA WATER, this water is sodium-free. A lot of doctors agreed with the fact that it is healthy, but personally I think that this trace mineral should be present in small amount.
Read about it here:
https://www.eatlikemira.com/2010/06/09/ultra-water/
Usually, on the first weight loss visit, I perform a test that measures the water, fat and protein proportions in the body.
Some clients show a high water mass in their body, which is mainly caused by salt consumption that can be hidden in certain food items, more than just adding table salt to the foods.
If water mass is high, a well organized, varied and low-sodium diet will make them lose a lot on the first week of diet.
Sodium consumption is very important for everyone. Too much sodium in the body makes us feel bloated, constipated, tired. It causes migraine for some people.
Women should watch their consumption of sodium before their menstrual cycle, as they are tempted to retain more water in their body.
Pregnant women should also avoid high consumption of salt which will cause problems for her and for her baby.
People taking certain medications like cortisone should cut off the sodium completely from their diet. Cortisone causes bloating, and they don’t need extra water retention from salt consumption!
High consumption of sodium is one of the reasons for cellulite development
That doesn’t mean that you have to live on low-sodium foods! You can enjoy your favorite meal or food item from time to time.
But …Always drink a lot of water when eating sodium- containing foods! 🙂
At the beginning of this website, I talked about the Himalayan Crystal Salt. This salt has shown excellent results in treating hypertension, bloating, and many other cases.
Take a look at it:
https://www.eatlikemira.com/2010/01/23/himalayan-crystal-salt/
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