Salt is essential to our body, yet we give it way too much . It is important to know why and how we must reduce our salt intake in order to live better.
Studies on the subject are unanimous:we consume practically twice as much of salt.
Men 9 to 10 gr per day, women 7 to 8 gr, while it is recommended to absorb 5 to 6 gr daily.
Sodium , present in salt, is essential for us to properly distribute water in our body. It participates in the proper functioning of our muscles, the path of our nerve impulses, and the activity of our heart.
Like everything essential to our health, excesses however, have undesirable and even dangerous effects.
Too much salt can eventually lead to an increase in blood pressure , with risks of cardiovascular diseases . It can also aggravate existing problems, such as water retention or osteoporosis .
There are two kinds of salt:hidden salt , and visible salt .
The hidden salt is present in the foods we eat, either naturally or during their manufacture. Of course, we cannot remove it, but we must take into account its existence, and therefore reduce the second:visible salt.
The visible salt is the one we add to our dishes. It is the one that it is becoming urgent to reduce, under penalty of the aforementioned risks.
I personally tried the experiment. If, at first, the dishes seemed a little bland , I must say that I very quickly got used to the new taste of my food. What a pleasure to find the real flavors of vegetables and other spices!
If I really don't like my food with half the salt, I have some "little tricks" at my disposal...
- First of all, I put half as much salt in the water of my pasta (you can barely feel the difference).
- Then I also remove half of it in all my dishes, to which I add other spices . You can now find aromatic, dried or frozen herbs in all shops. It enhances the taste as much as the salt.
I rediscovered spices and herbs such as thyme, tarragon, basil, or even curry and nutmeg, which have delicious flavors.
- I give flavor to my salads, fish and meat with lemon , or onion , shallot or garlic .
- I choose my food:I know that cold meats, cheeses and prepared meals contain a lot of salt. I therefore preferably use unprepared "raw" foods, and I eat deli meats less often. (I like cheese too much! But I choose it).
- As an aperitif, cherry tomatoes are just as delicious as peanuts , too salty.
- I also choose my water:if I drink bottled water, I take one low in sodium . This will help me reduce my salt intake even further (and not feel guilty about cheese time!)
I chose not to give them the taste salt, so they don't get used to it. I pay attention to the dishes I prepare for them since they were babies . I never bring the salt shaker to the table. And finally, I compare labels in stores. Be aware that the small pots for babies are very low in salt.
I know that the half of the population, from the age of 40, suffers from arterial hypertension, and I have decided not to be one of them! And you ? what are you going to do ? Let me know in the comments if we're going to lower these stats!
