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Reduce Salt Intake with Low Salt Meals |
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Is Salt Good for You? Salt Diet Tips for Low Salt MealsHow do I reduce my salt intake and is there a specific diet which I can follow? I really have no idea of how much salt I'm having now?
High intake of salt in your diet can lead to development of various disorders like hypertension, heart attack, stroke and kidney disorders.
Hypertension is prevalent and stroke is the leading cause of death in individuals with very high salt consumption of 9 to 12 grams per day or 150 to 200 mEQ sodium per day. You can observe moderate salt restriction of 6 g per day that contains 100 mEQ sodium per day.
The restriction for salt is because chloride ion with sodium raises blood pressure.
Salt or sodium chloride is present in almost all processed and packaged foods. Whenever we talk about high salt intake, we need to relate it to high sodium intake.
Because most dietary salt comes from processed foods, changes in food processing will help you to reach the sodium goal.
There are various foods that are high in added salt. These include foods like corn flakes and bran flakes, cheese, cottage cheese, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, soy sauce, ketchup, pickles, smoked and cured fish, cured ham, frankfurters, potato chips, pretzels, salted butter and margarine, seaweeds and tortilla chips.
Foods that are considered to be beneficial and contain less amount of salt are fresh foods like fruits, vegetables and meat, oats, rice and pastas.
The culprit of high salt intake in the diet is addition of salt in food at the table or addition of salt by the food companies on their packaged foods. There are various ways of reducing the salt intake in the diet which are as follows:
- You can note down the various food sources of salt like salt present in outside foods, salted condiments and processed foods.
- Check the label of the foods. Select lower sodium cereals, crackers, canned foods and sauces.
- If you need to add salt in the food, add it at the end. You need to add very less quantity of salt in the food at the end of cooking.
- Avoid addition of extra salt on the table. Prefer salt substitutes.
You may need to consult the doctor before using the salt substitutes. - Substitute salt for various tastemakers like vinegar, lemon juice, parsley that have a vaguely salty flavor, wine, herbs and spices. These ingredients can enhance the taste of the foods.
- Rinse canned foods to remove excessive salt.
- You need to reduce the salt intake gradually. Drastic salt restriction can make you feel that the food is unpalatable and bland.
There may not be a specific diet plan that can reduce the intake of salt. However DASH sodium diet helps in cutting down the intake of salt to 2/3 teaspoon per day. DASH diet is basically reducing the sodium content in the diet for lowering the blood pressure. This plan involves intake of fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy products, whole grains, meat, fish and poultry for reducing the sodium in your diet. |
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