I may not personally be the biggest fan of salt, but I know plenty of people out there who can't go without it. There's no problem with adding a dash to your soup, tuna salad, what have it, but many of us tend not to stop there. A mere sprinkling of salt can easily (and at many times, unnoticeably) turn into a snow storm of sodium, hitting your food and quickly dissapearing into its surface.
With all of that salt hidden from view, you may not realize just how much you're taking in. Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes. Alternatively, you may consciously rattle the salt shaker away, intuitively knowing that your food needs more than a slight kick to meet your tastebuds' expectations. Deliberately or not, continuously adding all of that sodium to your food can start to take a toll on your health.
I'm not saying that sodium is bad, for as the Mayo Clinic points out, moderate amounts are needed to help our bodies maintain a proper fluid balance, transmit nerve pulses, and help our muscles to expand and contract. Our kidneys control this vital balance, and they're able to carry out this function until too much sodium comes their way.
The kidneys excrete the sodium that our bodies don't need through our urine, but when faced with a torrent, they aren't able to rid of it all. This entrapment can result in high blood pressure, which can increase risk for cardiovascular disease, amongst other diseases. On a less serious yet more commonly occurring level, the water retained by sodium can cause bloating, and who needs that?
The American Heart Association recommends limiting your sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day, but on average, Americans consume well over twice that amount daily. Many of us don't realize just how much sodium is added into the processed and packaged foods we buy from the grocery store; you might be surprised by the high amounts found in your favorite cereals, soups, and lunch meats. Even bread contains more sodium than you would expect!
In order to stay within the AHA's quota, getting into the habit of checking food labels for their sodium content isn't a bad idea. The culprits to be on the lookout for include:
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
- Baking soda (a.k.a. sodium bicarbonate)
- Baking powder
- Disodium phosphate
- Sodium alginate
- Sodium citrate
- Sodium nitrite
Another option is to buy less of the packaged goods and instead opt for fresh foods, such as veggies, fruits, and meats. While they do contain naturally occurring sodium, their content is low.
Also keep in mind that sodium overhauls aren't limited to the grocery store. Restaurant meals can pack it in as well, but unless the nutrition facts are provided in the menu (which commonly isn't the case), your server isn't likely to have the information on hand. To avoid the issue, you could always ask to have your dish prepared without salt (I do this myself, and the chefs have always been able to accommodate me if the food wasn't already prepared ahead of time). If you feel your food needs some added flavor, you can add a bit of salt yourself, allowing you to know just how much is going in.
Better yet, you could consider using sodium-free flavor enhancers, especially when cooking at home. Spices and herbs such as ground black pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder are staples in my kitchen, and I'm always sure to have lemons and limes on hand, as well. Limiting your sodium intake isn't as painful as you may think, and when you weigh in between devouring that bag of pretzels or having a healthy heart, which of the two really sounds more appealing?
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