Salt Shakers: How to Consume Less Sodium In Your Diet

Having too much sodium in your diet can lead to a whole host of health problems, and the main issue is that most of us don’t know how much sodium we’re getting. Although your body needs sodium to transmit nerve impulses, maintain fluid balance and help in the contraction and relaxation of muscles, you need less than 2,300 mg a day – which is about 1,100 less than the average diet contains. So, what can you do to cut back on sodium?

 

1. Eat fresh: You’ll find low levels of sodium in most fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as in fresh sources of meat. However, you should steer clear of bacon, hot dogs, sausage and ham.

 

2. Look on the label: If you really can’t get over your love for processed foods, at least pick the ones that say “low sodium” on the label. Still, it’s better to buy plain, wholegrain rice and pasta than those found in ready-meals or with added seasonings. When buying any food items, watch out for salt-containing ingredients like monosodium glutamate (MSG), baking soda, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, disodium phosphate, sodium alginate, sodium citrate and sodium nitrate. You should also avoid products with more than 200 mg of sodium per serving, and make sure you know how many servings are in a package

 

3. Revamp your recipes: It may not be the way your grandmother made it but you should remove salt from recipes whenever you can. Often, you won’t even notice salt is gone, especially in hearty meals like casseroles, soups, stews and other main dishes. If you need a little more inspiration, find cookbooks that focus on guarding your wellbeing against high blood pressure and heart disease.

 

4. Cut down on condiments: Although they don’t make up a huge part of your diet, condiments are not worth the salt-content they give you. There’s sodium in soy sauce, salad dressings, sauces, dips, ketchup, mustard and relish, so it’s better to flavour your food with delicious herbs, rather than throwing on some sauce at the end. Fresh or dried herbs, spices, zest from citrus fruit, and fruit juices can really help to jazz up your meals.

 

5. Be suspicious of substitutes: Let’s get this straight right now; sea salt is not a good substitute for table salt – they have the same sodium content. You can get “light” salts which contain a mixture of table salt and other compounds, but this often means that you use even more of the light salts to achieve the salty taste you’re used to. Plus, a lot of these substitutes contain potassium chloride which, when eaten in excess, can threaten your wellbeing. This is certainly the case if you have kidney problems or if you’re taking medications for congestive heart failure or high blood pressure that cause potassium retention.

 

6. Learn the lingo: Manufacturers make cleverly-worded claims about the sodium content of food, so you need to learn the difference between good marketing and a low-sodium product. If it says sodium-free or salt-free, there will be less than 5 mg of sodium in each serving. The label “very low sodium” indicates a sodium content of 35 mg or less per serving, while “low sodium” means a serving containing 140 mg of sodium or less, and reduced or less sodium means that the product contains at least 25% less sodium than the regular version. For a product to be “light” in sodium, the sodium content needs to be reduced by at least 50% from the regular version and, finally, unsalted or no salt added means that no salt has been added to the food, but the product, or some of its ingredients, may still be naturally high in sodium.

Categories: blood pressure, high blood, light salts, Read the label, regular version, Salt, sodium, sodium content, sodium means, substitutes, table salt

How to Enjoy the Taste of Sugar this Diwali, Minus the Guilt

While Diwali is a time for celebration, stressing about how the festival will have an impact on your diet is enough to wreak havoc on your emotional wellness. Sure you want to join in the festivities, but all that decadent food will add inches to your waistline, not to mention the fact that it’s not-too beneficial for your health. The consumption of sugar alone could ruin all the weight loss progress you’ve made, but at least you have substitutes available. Let’s take a look at the sugar substitutes you can make this Diwali:

 

1. Aspartame: 25 years ago, a revolution came for sweet toothers everywhere; aspartame. This sweetener is often used in soft drinks, due to the fact that it is 200 times sweeter than sugar. However, there is a question of how safe it is for your overall wellbeing, albeit being very beneficial to your diet. Research has shown that drinking diet soft drinks – which contain aspartame – can increase your risk of developing diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Moreover, researchers at the University of Liverpool found that, when mixed with a common food colour ingredient, aspartame actually became toxic to brain cells. Still, the sweetener is yet to be removed from shelves.

 

2. Honey: While honey does technically have twice the amount of calories that you would find in sugar, it’s actually much better for your health. Organic honey is packed with nutrients and antioxidants to help you ward of illnesses, as well as having a low glycaemic index. This means that using honey will not cause your insulin levels to suddenly spike and crash in the same way that sugar does.

 

3. Agave Nectar (Syrup): If you like the benefits of honey but you’re a vegan, you might try agave nectar, which is prepared from a plant source known as Blue Agave. However, while this seems like a good option, and no nasty side effects have been confirmed, many agave nectars consist of 70 to 80% fructose, which is more than you would in high-fructose corn syrup! According to Christine Gerbstadt, MD, PhD, RD, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, the best option is to choose a type of agave that contains no more than 30 to 40% fructose.

 

4. Sucralose: You may be more aware of this sweetener than you think, as it’s marketed as Splenda. Sucralose is processed from sugar itself and is one sweetener which does not seem to have raised any controversy or health warnings by FDA. Your body does not register sucralose as a carbohydrate and the sweetener doesn’t give you any calories from the sugar. However, you might want to pay closer attention to the bulking agents used in Splenda, as some reports state that these can add around 12 calories per tablespoon of the mixture, even though the package does not list these calories. The good thing about sucralose is that it isn’t affected by heat, which means you can use it in baking recipes without worrying too much. Still, the sweetener is known to have an after taste when used in excess, so don’t overdo it.

 

5. Blackstrap Molasses: Last but not least on this list is blackstrap molasses. As with honey, this sweetener is high in calories, and so may not be the best option if you’re trying to lose weight. However, DesiDieter Expert Tina Khanna explains, ‘Although heavy on the calorie content, blackstrap is rich in iron, potassium, and calcium, making it a healthier choice than nutritionally defunct artificial sweeteners or even regular refined sugar.’ This is impressive considering the fact that blackstrap and refined sugar both come from sugar cane.

Categories: agave nectar, blackstrap molasses, calories, Diwali, honey, nbsp, refined sugar, Soft Drinks, substitutes, Sugar, sweetener