Chemical Free Food - The Problems With Salt In The Diet
Unfortunately reducing salt in our diets is not as simple as not adding salt on our plated food or reducing the amount of salt we use for cooking.
Sodium (Salt) is one of the most popular food additives used to enhance flavour and preserve processed foods.
It can be assumed any processed food purchased from a supermarket will contain sodium in one form or another.
Sodium can be found in low doses in most fresh fruit and vegetables, interestingly a plant does not need sodium to grow so any sodium a plant has or uptakes is not used by the plant for any nutrient source.
Some vegetables contain higher amounts of sodium than others but would require several bucket fulls to be eaten to reach the daily recommended sodium allowance.
The maximum recommended intake of sodium per day is 2400mg according to most scientific studies.
It is estimated most adults will consume in excess of 3500mg of sodium every day.
One of the biggest concerns with an excess consumption of sodium is the effect it has on rising blood pressure.
Salt collects water causing bloating.
When this occurs the volume of blood increases causing the heart to work harder to move it around the body.
Applying salt from a shaker on our food in most average amounts would provide around 500mg of sodium per day.
Not much considering the average adult consumes 3500mg each day.
However removing salt from the shaker is a good place to start in reducing salt in our diets.
To reduce the amount of salt needed in cooking food look for other flavouring enhancers such as herbs, spices and peppers (bell peppers, chilli etc.
) and always taste your food as you cook it rather than just adding salt for the sake of it.
Processed foods is the largest source of sodium in our diets.
I would be surprised if I heard less than 80% of the sodium we consume came from processed foods.
From processed meats, biscuits, bread, cakes, sauces and cheese to over the counter and prescription medicines, drinks, artificial sweeteners, and a list beyond the scope of this article.
In fact most edible food products in the supermarket will contain sodium in some form.
So what forms does sodium come in? Sodium is not only associated with the white shaker or cooking salt we use at home.
Many other types of sodium are used in the food processing industry.
Sodium Bicarbonate - Commonly known as Baking Soda Monosodium glutamate - MSG Sodium Alginate - Food Glue Disodium Phosphate - Anti-caking agent Sodium Nitrate - Preservative and Colour enhancer found in processed meat If you plan on eliminating salt from your diet it can be hard to remove salt from your food completely.
Try reducing the amount of sodium you use while increasing the amount herbs and spices to replace flavours your family may be used to.
After a few weeks you can be salt free.
When shopping look for items that are No Salt or Salt Reduced.
Avoid regular junk food (but splurge occasionally - we all deserve a treat) Article written by Eric J.
Smith
Sodium (Salt) is one of the most popular food additives used to enhance flavour and preserve processed foods.
It can be assumed any processed food purchased from a supermarket will contain sodium in one form or another.
Sodium can be found in low doses in most fresh fruit and vegetables, interestingly a plant does not need sodium to grow so any sodium a plant has or uptakes is not used by the plant for any nutrient source.
Some vegetables contain higher amounts of sodium than others but would require several bucket fulls to be eaten to reach the daily recommended sodium allowance.
The maximum recommended intake of sodium per day is 2400mg according to most scientific studies.
It is estimated most adults will consume in excess of 3500mg of sodium every day.
One of the biggest concerns with an excess consumption of sodium is the effect it has on rising blood pressure.
Salt collects water causing bloating.
When this occurs the volume of blood increases causing the heart to work harder to move it around the body.
Applying salt from a shaker on our food in most average amounts would provide around 500mg of sodium per day.
Not much considering the average adult consumes 3500mg each day.
However removing salt from the shaker is a good place to start in reducing salt in our diets.
To reduce the amount of salt needed in cooking food look for other flavouring enhancers such as herbs, spices and peppers (bell peppers, chilli etc.
) and always taste your food as you cook it rather than just adding salt for the sake of it.
Processed foods is the largest source of sodium in our diets.
I would be surprised if I heard less than 80% of the sodium we consume came from processed foods.
From processed meats, biscuits, bread, cakes, sauces and cheese to over the counter and prescription medicines, drinks, artificial sweeteners, and a list beyond the scope of this article.
In fact most edible food products in the supermarket will contain sodium in some form.
So what forms does sodium come in? Sodium is not only associated with the white shaker or cooking salt we use at home.
Many other types of sodium are used in the food processing industry.
Sodium Bicarbonate - Commonly known as Baking Soda Monosodium glutamate - MSG Sodium Alginate - Food Glue Disodium Phosphate - Anti-caking agent Sodium Nitrate - Preservative and Colour enhancer found in processed meat If you plan on eliminating salt from your diet it can be hard to remove salt from your food completely.
Try reducing the amount of sodium you use while increasing the amount herbs and spices to replace flavours your family may be used to.
After a few weeks you can be salt free.
When shopping look for items that are No Salt or Salt Reduced.
Avoid regular junk food (but splurge occasionally - we all deserve a treat) Article written by Eric J.
Smith
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