Get the Salt Out (4 page)

C
ontrary to popular belief, getting the salt out of your diet isn’t as simple as passing up the use of the salt shaker.

In fact, if you’re the average American, throwing away your salt shaker will hardly make a dent in your sodium intake because salt added at the table is minimal compared to the salt that is hidden in the processed foods we eat every day. Salt is added so insidiously and so routinely to foods by manufacturers that it’s difficult to escape it. From obviously salted snack foods like chips, pretzels, and roasted party nuts to basic staples like soups and breads, salt is in there. It’s even hidden in cereals like cornflakes and desserts like instant chocolate pudding.

The use of salt in the cooking and processing of foods is so widespread that getting the salt out clearly requires a multidimensional approach. It means developing a “salt savvy”—learning where salt normally is found and how to do without it creatively and tastefully.

The tips in this book will help you do exactly that, but you may not be willing or able to try every suggestion. Remember that the tips were written to give helpful hints for people wanting to slightly reduce their sodium intake as well as for salt-sensitive individuals who need to severely restrict their sodium
intake—and everyone in between. Just begin using the tips that seem most helpful and appealing to you, and your success with those tips may motivate you to try others in the future. Even if you use only one-tenth of the tips in the book, you’ll almost certainly reduce the salt in your diet in a significantly healthy way.

To help you in your quest to get the salt out of your diet, I have marked tips throughout this book with
Salt Shaker
ratings, ranging from one to three. (Tips without a
Salt Shaker
rating don’t require one. They are simply general concepts you need to understand to help you develop your salt savvy.)

One Salt Shaker
refers to tips and recipes that contain healthy sodium that totals
140 milligrams or less per serving.
This includes all foods that are labeled “sodium free,” “very low sodium,” and “low sodium.” It also distinguishes recipes that are low in salt as well as those that contain no added salt, salt-containing condiments, or salty ingredients. The recipes in this category use only unrefined whole foods, contain more potassium than sodium (as virtually all natural foods do), and should be safe for very salt-sensitive individuals and those on low-sodium diets.

The
Two Salt Shakers
ranking is given to foods that contain
between 140 milligrams and 250 milligrams of sodium per serving.
This includes sodium-rich natural foods like crab, and recipes that contain small amounts of added salt or salty processed ingredients like cheese. These foods usually are well tolerated by most healthy adults who are on prevention-oriented, health maintenance diets.

Foods labeled with
Three Salt Shakers
provide
more than 250 milligrams of sodium (or 1/8 teaspoon of salt) per serving.
Recipes with this ranking are quite high in sodium, but they offer a superior alternative to the usual high-sodium fare because they supply natural sources of sodium instead of refined salt
or
because they contain high amounts of potassium and other minerals that negate some of the hazardous effects of a high-sodium
intake. Tips designated with
Three Salt Shakers
can be used as beginning steps when you feel that you’re addicted to salt and are trying to cut down. They also can be used for occasional “splurges” when your diet as a whole is low in sodium. If you have trouble reducing the salt in your diet, eating foods designated with
Three Salt Shakers
is a great place to start. Remember, though, that eating these foods alone will not reduce your sodium intake enough to be within the FDA’s recommended maximum daily quantity of 2,400 milligrams of sodium. To keep your sodium intake within these guidelines, at least be sure to balance your intake of
One, Two,
and
Three Salt Shaker
foods.

Although some of us may not be able to enjoy our best health on an extremely strict low-sodium diet, this book still emphasizes
One Salt Shaker
tips and recipes. This is because you can salt according to your individual needs and tastes at the table and easily change
One Salt Shaker
into
Two
or
Three Salt Shakers
if needed. If you add slightly more than 1/16 of a teaspoon of salt per serving to a
One Salt Shaker
recipe, it will become a
Two Salt Shaker
recipe; ⅛ of a teaspoon of salt per serving changes the recipe into
Three Salt Shakers.

How much salt you should add to foods will depend on such things as your salt sensitivity, your unique sodium needs, and how well you eliminate processed foods and salt used in cooking. If you’re concerned about adding natural salt at the table, you need to understand that while sodium needs do vary, reducing sodium too much can be just as harmful as consuming large amounts of it. Too little sodium can cause spasms, poor heart rhythm, and sudden death. A study reported on in the June 1995 issue of
Hypertension
found that hypertensive patients who consumed the lowest sodium intake were actually four times more likely to have heart attacks than other participants in the study.
Low salt, not no salt, appears to be best as a permanent way of eating for most individuals.

Of course, you should receive most of the sodium to meet your requirements from natural foods. Just a shake or two of salt added to foods usually is all most of us need or want. As you gradually get the salt out of your diet, your tastes will change. You’ll be able to discern many subtle flavors that you used to miss completely, and you’ll begin to enjoy and prefer low-salt food after a short adaptation period of just two to eight weeks. When you use the flavorful cooking tips in this book, meals will no longer overemphasize the salty taste alone, but instead they will be transformed into whole new adventures in taste and aroma. You’ll also find that you have a great deal of freedom in the variety of meals you can eat when you reduce your sodium intake. You can have most of the foods that you thought were forbidden—nachos, sausage, and even pickles—as long as you prepare those foods with salt savvy.

In addition to the 501 tips that will help you develop your salt savvy, this book also includes Bonus Tips, which are not specifically about getting the refined salt out of your diet. They will, however, make things easier in the kitchen, add to your nutritional knowledge, and help you to be a smarter food consumer in general.

Throughout
Get the Salt Out,
I refer to other books both as sources of recipes and as references for related topics. Learning how and why to cook without salt are complex subjects, so you may want to refer to these books for more detailed information on specific topics of interest to you. A list of the books appears in the bibliography at the back of this book.

In addition to the books, I also mention specific brands of products that can be helpful when trying to stick to a low-to moderate-sodium diet. The products I have mentioned can provide quick convenience without the salt that normally accompanies prepared foods. Although the emphasis in the diet always should be to eat as many fresh, natural foods as possible,
it’s important to understand that packaged and convenience food products can be used as long as you select them carefully.

As I explained in the Preface, sodium requirements and salt sensitivity vary from individual to individual. Some of us are extremely sensitive to the tiniest bit of salt, while others seem to be able to handle large amounts. Even if salt doesn’t seem to be a problem right now for you, remember all the evidence showing that long- of salt takes a serious toll on the body. Most Americans would benefit by reducing sodium intake by at least half.

How far you go in your quest to reduce your use of salt is entirely up to you. It will depend on your individual biochemistry, your present health condition, and how well you develop your salt savvy. Whatever your long-term sodium-reduction and health goals are, make sure to celebrate each successful step that you make toward achieving them.

Incidentally, although you may not realize it, the fact that you are reading this book means that you already have taken your first step. You have decided to pay attention to the scientific evidence about salt and sodium and put that knowledge into action to improve your health. Congratulations and good luck on your new adventure!

M
any salt-reducing tips are versatile. Once you learn them, you can use them when making anything from breakfast to party foods. They can be utilized repeatedly, anywhere and anytime, until they become habits and maybe even family traditions.

The tips in this chapter are your beginning lessons, and they should become your mainstays. They are fundamental ways to break the salt habit—basic concepts that will teach you how to limit, substitute, or eliminate salt in the foods you put in your shopping cart, the foods you have in your kitchen, and the way you prepare food.

Begin by remembering the concepts and using the tips that seem most simple and appealing to you. Once those tips become second nature, try using other suggestions that seem more unfamiliar to you.

Making lifestyle changes is never easy, but it’s particularly difficult to change dietary habits that have been ingrained since childhood. The liberal use of salt is automatic for most Americans. Breaking this habit usually has to be a gradual process, and its best to proceed at your own pace.

It also helps when you know exactly how and why you
should get the salt out of your diet. The tips in this chapter cover those important how’s and whys and serve as the foundation for all of the other tips in this book. Get to know this chapter well and keep reminding yourself that the efforts you make today will pay off in rewards to your health in the future.