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| Salt is the most important source of sodium in our diet |
Salt is the most important source of sodium in our diet. Our bodies need sodium for many functions. Cells work properly, the electrolytes in the body are balanced and blood pressure is controlled. All these things are made possible by sodium.
Sodium is an essential part of our body, so what is the use of salt? What exactly is this?
Table salt provides 90% of our body's sodium requirement. In scientific parlance it is also called sodium chloride.
The World Health Organization recommends that healthy people eat less than five grams of salt a day. That's about a teaspoon.
But according to official figures, people in India eat up to 11 grams of salt a day, far more than the WHO suggests.
What are the disadvantages of eating too much salt?
Eating too much salt at any age can raise your blood pressure. There are other risks to having too much salt in your diet.
Heart disease, gastric cancer, and blood flow to the brain can be adversely affected, meaning that a vein in the brain may rupture or blood clots may form.
But we also know that reducing the amount of salt in the diet improves blood pressure levels and can reduce the risk of all these diseases.
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| Eating too much salt can have serious health effects |
Which type of salt has the least sodium?
There are many types of salt available in the market which are used to make food more palatable.
The healthiest salt of all these types of salt is the one that has the least amount of sodium.
There are many types of salt in different parts of the world depending on the different methods of preparation of salt, its ingredients, color and taste.
Refined salt or common salt is one of the most widely used salts. It contains 97 to 99% sodium chloride.
It is so refined that it does not contain any healthy ingredients. It can't be called good in terms of nutrients.
Take sea salt, for example. It is made by evaporating brackish sea water. It is not refined and contains more minerals.
It also contains a lot of iodine which is good for our body. Sea salt contains 10% less sodium than ordinary salt.
Similarly, pink salt extracted from the Himalayas is also low in sodium and contains ingredients like magnesium and potassium.
Celtic salt or gray salt is also low in sodium and rich in other minerals and salts. This salt is so natural that no foreign substance is added to it.
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| Packaged foods and sausages are high in salt |
Low sodium salt
Salt is also sold in the market under the name of light salt or low sodium salt in which the amount of sodium is reduced by fifty percent.
Also, the salt that is available under the name of Potassium Salt does not contain sodium or if it does, it is non-existent.
This type of salt is good for people who are accustomed to eating too much salt.
However, this salt should be used only on the advice of a doctor.
It should be eaten when you have certain diseases because eating it increases the amount of potassium in your diet.
Is it enough to remove salt from the dining table?
Eating too much salt is not good for health. In such cases, it is more important to control the amount of salt than to choose the type of salt.
It is also important to keep in mind that salt in our diet does not come from cooked food alone. There are many products that are high in salt. In such cases, if these things are eaten in excess, it can harm our health, even if we reduce the amount of salt in our daily diet.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration, more than 70% of the sodium in our diet comes from packaged foods and processed foods.
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| Look carefully at the ingredients on packaged foods. Don't use too much salt |
A large amount of these items are prepared sauces and soybean sauces, which are high in salt. And pre-cooked soups, meals, salted meats, sausages, salted fish, and preserves also contain a lot of salt. We should also not forget salty foods like chips, fried nuts and popcorn.
We should also avoid products that use monosodium glutamate to enhance flavor.
How to reduce salt without compromising taste?
Knowing all these things related to salt, we can adopt these methods to reduce the amount of salt in our diet.
Avoid pre-packaged meals and sausages
Instead of eating salty snacks, eat non-salty snacks such as natural nuts, fruits, soybean beans and homemade hummus.
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| Eat natural and fresh foods instead of packaged foods |
Be careful not to eat packaged foods that contain salt and monosodium glutamate.
Add spices and aromatic herbs to the food instead of salt which will enhance the taste of the food.
Use cooking methods such as boiling and other methods such as steam cooking and baking to maintain the taste of food.
In this case, it is not necessary to add too much salt to the food. But we must remember that we cannot live without sodium.
It is possible to eliminate table salt or salty foods from your diet. Because there are many products like bread and cheese which are made with salt.
However, taking too little salt or sodium in the diet without medical advice can have harmful effects on your health.
For example, it can cause sleep problems, sodium deficiency and the risk of developing kidney stones.
Because of this you should reduce the amount of salt in your diet and avoid eating foods that are high in salt.
But salt should not be removed from your diet without medical advice.
This article was originally published on The Conservation and is published here under the Creative Commons License.
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