Reduce Salt (Sodium) in your daily Food Intake



Reduce Salt (Sodium) in your daily Food Intake

One of the most common minerals on earth, salt has been part of our diet for centuries. It has been used extensively in many cuisines to improve the flavor of foods. It is also the cheapest ingredient used to preserve foods such as pickled vegetables and cured meat.

Sodium is the major component of salt. It is essential to our health as it maintains fluid balance in our body as well as helps our muscles, including the heart muscle, to relax. However, when consumed excessively, sodium can cause fluid retention in our body and contribute to high blood pressure. Cutting down on sodium in one's diet and medication are keys to controlling high blood pressure.

Train Your Tongue

While it is easy to detect high-sodium food based upon its salty taste, some people who tongues have acquired a preference for salty food may not realize that their diet is high in sodium. The good news is that your tongue can be retrained gradually to become accustomed to less salty foods.

Read Before You Buy

Reading food labels is important to identifying foods high in sodium. Most food packaging have in their contents a list of major nutrients, including sodium. You can also try rely on the Healthier Choice Symbol or manufacturers' label such as 'Reduced Sodium', 'Low in Sodium' and 'No Added Salt' to help you choose a food produce with less sodium.

Go Fresh

Having fresh foods is another way to reduce your sodium intake. Compared to processed foods,fresh product such as fruit, vegetables and meat are naturally low in sodium. However, watch how you cook such foods as seasonings and salt can escalate the sodium content in them.

No Shaking and Dipping

Having a saltshaker or soy sauce at the table is a habit that is easy to get rid off. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind.

Sodium in your everyday foods:

What you need in a day 2000mg
Common Seasonings  
salt, 1 tsp 2000mg
MSG, 1 tsp 620 mg
Oyster sauce, 1 tsp 345 mg
Tomato Ketchup, 1 tsp 114 mg
Chili Sauce, 1 tsp 57 mg
Light Soy Sauce, 1 tsp 365 mg
Dark Soy Sauce, 1 tsp 203 mg
Salt-reduced soy sauce, 1 tsp 165-206 mg
Salt substitutes, 1 tsp 524-1560 mg


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