In this blog you will see How Much Salt Should We Use Daily and How to reduce Daily Intake. Sodium chloride or salt -- is a crystalline compound that comes from the oceans. Salt can be harvested from seawater through evaporation, or it can be mined from inland deposits left by ancient oceans. Most salt we use in our kitchens and dining rooms is mined, except salt sold as "sea salt," which comes from seawater.
Salt facts
- Salt is an essential part of the human diet. Processed foods contain too much bad sodium, it’s a fact.
- Salt in large quantities is a killer.
- While curbing salt intake may well be very good advice, it is not the only factor which impacts our health and well being
- Balancing sodium with potassium is very important for good health. Best to consider good balanced mineral salt for your salt intake
- Sodium (Na) is one of the chemical elements found in table salt, also known as sodium chloride.
- Most of the sodium consumed by peoples comes from prepackaged, ready-to-eat foods, rather than from salt added at the table or in home cooking.
- Restaurant foods, especially those from fast food outlets, generally contain high amounts of sodium.
How much Healthy salt intake?
Research suggests for adults, 1,500 mg of sodium per day is considered an adequate intake and 2,300 mg — about a teaspoon of salt — is the upper limit.
1 teaspoonful contains about 6 grams of salt
6 grams of salt contains about 2400 mg of sodium
Salt use as a flavour and preservative
As well, since sodium is often used by the food industry to enhance flavour or as a preservative, many common foods contain sodium.
Some of the foods that can be high in sodium include: sandwiches and burgers; soups; pizza; frozen and ready-to-eat meals; cheese; gravies and sauces; processed luncheon meats; and snack foods, such as crackers, nachos, potato chips and pretzels.
Health Risks of Excess Sodium
A diet high in sodium is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure.
High blood pressure
How to Reduce Your Salt Intake
Replace Food foods that naturally contain sodium. An example is celery: one medium size stalk of celery contains 35 mg of sodium.
Get rid of the Salk shaker. Literally - do not have one in your house. Do not sprinkle salt on anything you eat at home either when cooking or when sitting down to eat .
Use fresh herbs in the summer and in the winter dried ones to add flavour
Use ground black pepper and it takes away some of the craving for Salt
Cooking from scratch is the best way to avoid all the salt in processed foods
Cook your own food! Don't buy processed food. It's healthier and its way cheaper.
Cut down of the prepared meats, condiments and fast foods.
Don't purchase canned soups they are high in sodium - make your own fron scratch and don't add salt untill you eat it.
Avoid food items where the sodium mg is greater than the number of calories on the label. E.g. PC Tortilla Chips: 160 mg sodium, 250 calories
Heinz Tomato Soup: 800 mg sodium, 70 calories.
Substitute salt with spices.
Purchase salt-free manufactured foods whenever possible.
Eat whole foods (non-processed) mostly fruits and vegetables and not too much.
Be aware of how much you should be taking in and how much you ARE taking in. Look at the labels on products you buy and just give a bit of thought to how much salt you consume.
RINSE all your canned foods several times to get rid of the preservatives. Let sit in water and change it a few times if you have the time.
If making a salad which already has something salty in it don't add any salt.
Doesn’t use pizza sauce loaded with salt, use tomato sauce with no sodium...better yet make your own tomato sauce by boiling fresh ripe red tomatoes, draining and then squeeze
Buy and eat UNSALTED nuts and seeds.
Enjoy Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salts which are both full of minerals required by our bodies. Only refined white salt appears in refined food products that need to be avoided to maintain your health.
Use kosher salt. Nutritionally speaking, kosher salt is no different than table salt, although it does not provide iodine.
Best thing you can do is actually cook real meals from fresh ingredients, not heat up pre-packaged ones. That way, you know exactly what goes into your meal, and therefore what goes into your body. You can control how much or how little of certain ingredients you use.
I believe right now, the 'recommended daily intake' for sodium is around 2,000mg. That being said, one serving of pretzels, about 30 pretzels, is 1,040mg of sodium. Most people easily eat 2 servings in one sitting.
Soft drinks are high in sodium as well. A 500ml Coke has 80mg of sodium already
Thai and Asian cultures use fish sauce to flavour everything, which is a more natural approach to salt
