Tips on Low Sodium (Salt) Diet

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Sodium is an important nutrient too for a healthy body. It is a mineral that is naturally available in food and is commonly known as the Salt. Many of us cannot give up on eating salt as many believe that giving up salt is giving up on flavour. Salt is supposed to give extra taste and flavour to the food.

Over ages, Salt is added to various food products as preservative, works as fermentation control additive and texture control agent. Salt is also used as teeth cleaner (toothpaste) and a skin massager element to improve the complexion of skin. A high salt diet or extra salts are toxin to our bodies as they dehydrate the body leaving your kidneys working overtime to flush out all of the toxins.

Salty foods also disrupt your body’s natural balance; hence it is always better to eat natural fresh foods using minimal salt. Reducing on salts will surely help you live longer and offer amazing health benefits like shedding extra weight and give more energy etc. Below are some of the fantastic tips of a low salt diet:

• If you are planning to start cutting out on salt, first point to follow is to use salt sparingly. Do not add extra salts in your food and do not place salt on your dining table.
• You can always substitute salt with other flavours like garlic, lemon juice and fresh herbs. Fresh herbs like parsley, coriander leaves, mint leaves enhances the flavour of any dish while still reducing salt.
• Include a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables as they are very low in sodium.
• Avoid processed and pre-packaged foods as they are high on sodium like chips, cookies, crackers etc.
• Use fresh cuts of meats as they contain natural sodium than the frozen processed products which have high sodium content.
• Before buying any food product, seasonings or sauces, read their labels to know the sodium content. Develop a deeper understanding to know where sodium is found.

The easiest way to cut on salts is to never start taking extra salt. Salt preference is an acquired taste and reducing salts would at least take about 6-8 weeks to get used to eating foods with less salt. Initially it would be difficult but gradually once you get adjusted than you will find difficult to eat foods like chips because they taste too salty. For a person strictly avoiding eating salt is of course a great task but will benefits in long run.

This does require a huge will power, extra discipline and determination. It is very important you have and maintain a healthy lifestyle and explore unfamiliar flavours and surprise yourself and your palate that will help you in searching for extra salt. There are many natural and organic low sodium foods that are easily available in abundance. Some of the best low salt foods are:

• Most rice and pastas are low in sodium.
• Puffed rice, Rolled oats, granola
• Fruits like apples, banana, blackberries, pears, cherries, watermelon etc are low in sodium.
• Vegetables low in sodium includes cabbage, cucumber, green peppers, lima beans, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, chickpeas and broccoli.
• Unsalted nuts and seeds
• Fats such as olive oil and other cooking oils, unsalted butter or margarine, low sodium salad dressing or mayonnaise etc are low in sodium.
• Milk is an excellent nutritious dairy product that virtually has no sodium. Yogurt and milk are good sources of potassium and help lowering blood pressure.
• Soy based drinks/ milk are highly nutritious and has added calcium.
• Choose salt free seasoning to flavour food like spices and herbs without sodium, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard or low sodium chilli sauce etc.

Foods to avoid with High Sodium:

• Sausages, bacon, pre-packaged frozen meats
• Packed buttermilk, Malted milk etc
• Meats koshered by salting, smoked fish etc
• Pickles

Finally limit yourself from taking extra salts and lead a healthy lifestyle to stay fit and strong. Include variety of fruits and vegetable which are the leading sources of this crucial nutrient in your daily diet. If you wish to look out for some yummy, appetizing and exotic recipes, feel free to click at: www.vahrehvah.com

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