Sodium is an essential mineral and electrolyte that helps us regulate the balance of liquids in our body and favors muscle activity. We need a small amount of sodium to work. However, if we exceed, you can increase the Risk of suffering some diseasesnot only related to the heart, such as heart failure, kidney disease, stroke or heart attacks, but also with renal failure, osteoporosis or renal lithiasis (renal calculations).
Do we eat too much salt? Although the needs vary depending on age, sex, physical activity or health status of each person, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that salt intake in adults do not exceed five grams to the day, which would be equivalent to about two grams of sodium (or a small tablespoon, the size of a spoonful of coffee, salt). However, many of us ingest more than we need. According to data from the Spanish Food Security Agency (AESAN), the Spaniards consume on average about 9.8 grams of salt a daya much higher figure, almost double, which the health authorities recommend.
The salt shaker, the main enemy to excessive salt consumption?
When the need to reduce salt consumption one of the first things that comes to mind is the salt shaker. If we remove it from the table and keep it away from the stove when cooking, we believe that everything is solved.
However, and although this will help, the problem is not only in this object of the kitchen, but in the salt we do not see, in which it is present in some foods and we are not even aware of it and we think they do not contain salt when They really do salt. It is estimated that most of the salt intake, 80%, comes from packaged and pre -cooked products, and the 20% to which we add when cooking.
As a study Anibes of the Spanish Nutrition Federation (FEN), according to which we must take into account certain types of food, such as meat products such as sausages, bacon, sausages, bacon, butifarra, black pudding and charcator in general; followed by bread and special breads; pre -cooked products; The cheeses, except the low salt; Fish canned; the sauces; soups, creams and industrial broths; or the snacks. Here we should also take into account the Drinks that are marketed as “dietary” either Light, which contain sodium saccharin and sodium cyclamate, or “isotonic” drinks.
Another fact that provides the research of the FEN is that dinner is the food that contributes the most to this highest sodium intake, with a total of 30% to 37% of total intake, followed by breakfast.
But not only processed foods contain salt. Therefore, when this invisible salt is taken into account, we must also talk about the one that is present naturally in food, which would correspond to 8% -10% of the total salt consumption. We talk about foods such as seafood, some fish such as sole, dairy products such as cottage cheese or yogurt or certain vegetables such as celery or beet – although the foods that contain the most sodium are those to which the industry adds sodium.
How can we know the amount of salt containing a food
Any action we take to reduce salt consumption can make a difference when it comes to preventing problems. According to this analysis of 85 studies published in the magazine Circulationany sodium reduction decreases blood pressure. The first step to get it is, in addition to controlling the salt we add when cooking – something that can be more or less easy to make – knowing how much salt it contains the food we buy. But how can we know what this amount is? What should we look at when making the purchase?
According to information from the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition (SEEN), it is considered that a product takes a lot of salt when it provides 1.25 grams per 100 grams and little salt when this amount is located at 0.25 grams per 100 grams . The labeling here becomes our great ally. But to be able to make a correct reading, we must take into account that what appears on the label is the sodium content, not in salt. Therefore, we will have to do a small mathematical operation.
To calculate what this amount is equivalent to salt we can multiply the grams of sodium by 2.5. Therefore, a product containing 0.19 grams of sodium per 100 grams, equals a salt content of 0.47 grams (0.19 multiplied by 2.5). This specific product would have a medium salt content.
What can we do to reduce salt consumption
We know that a good part of the salt we consume comes from certain types of food. Therefore, limiting its consumption is the first step to reduce our salt intake. But it is also key to ‘retrace’ our taste papillae to adapt to a lower intake, and we can do it gradually, so that after time the time comes when we do not notice it. Meanwhile, these actions can help us achieve the goal:
- Using herbs and spices instead of salt when cooking: forgetting the salt shaker will be easy if we find other ingredients as or tastier, since we can add a special touch with herbs and spices such as basil, oregano or parsley.
- Prioritize the consumption of fresh products: fruits, vegetables and fish, because they contain little salt.
- Read the labeling well when making the purchase and choosing those products with less salt. We must look for claims as “low in salt” (they have less than 0.3 grams of salt per 100 grams) or “without added salt.”
- Vary the food we consume: many of us tend to eat similar foods every day. If they are salty, we will be consuming more salt than desired. Many of the food we keep in the pantry, such as soy sauce, broth pills or prepared dishes hide a lot of salt. Therefore, we can make changes, adjust their intake and use them in moderation and, instead of going to them every day, we can alternate them with other less salty dishes, such as homemade salads or soups, or opt for versions with a small content of always salt salt May possible.
- Recover the habit of cooking at home: we have already seen that precooked foods represent an important part of the salt consumption we make. If we cook at home, we can keep our consumption under control because it is we who decide how much salt we add.
It may cost a few days to enjoy the natural flavor of food. Although with time and these tricks we will help our papillae get used to consuming less salt.
#eat #salt #tricks #change #simply #removing #salt #shaker
