Salt has been around for many centuries, and it was used a long time before history was recorded. Salt was used as a way of preserving food and preventing it from spoiling. Salt is also used as a flavoring for many food dishes. Furthermore, eating foods with a high salt content can cause some significant problems to your health. For example, it can raise your blood pressure, and your cholesterol levels.
It is recommended that when you are cooking your food to use less salt for flavoring. There are some other ingredients to use that are a much healthier choice when flavoring your foods. The daily dosage for salt is about 2,400 milligrams. The majority of people have at least two or three times that much each day. It is important to read your food labels to know how much salt or sodium is already in the food that you are eating.
While you may be using salt to flavor, manufacturers are still using it to preserve. Frozen foods, processed foods and anything else that is pre-packaged will contain some measure of sodium. Even the healthy food meals, such as, Lean Cuisine and Weightwatchers can contain above the daily intake level. For people with significant health problems, such as, high blood pressure, kidney problems, obesity and heart problems, eating too much salt is a serious consequence to these health issues. The best way to bring your salt intake back into acceptable limits is to reduce or eliminate it from your diet. You probably won’t be able to go cold turkey, but you can work to reduce it one week at a time.
Here are some suggestions substitute salt but without taking away the flavor :
1. Eliminate processed food – The major source of hidden salt is processed foods. Read the food labels. Know how much salt you are getting with each serving.
2. Use low-sodium alternatives – Do you like to season rice with chicken broth or use beef broth for stew? If so, try using low-sodium broths to cut your salt intake. You can further dilute the broth with half a can of water.
3. Use other spices – Salt and pepper are not the only spices in the world of flavor. Try using spices like cumin or cayenne pepper or chili powder. These will help stimulate other taste areas of your tongue and help you to experience new flavors. Also, try using lemon juice. It can provide a tangy taste that may be close to what you taste with salt in food.
4. Use herbs – Fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, dill and mint can bring powerful new tastes to your palate. Try them with vegetables to enhance taste.
5. Use garlic – It smells wonderful and tastes even better. Press it to release the goodness. Chop it for stews or soups.
6. Learn how to taste your food – When you learn to recognize the natural tastes of food, you will need less salt to enhance it. That is what salt is really for – enhancing natural flavor, not masking it.
If you need to lose the salt, don’t despair. Learn new flavors so you don’t miss it at all.