“Salt is the first of all flavors”, without salt, even the best chefs can’t make delicious dishes. As we are surrounded by more and more delicious foods, the health risks associated with salt overload are also increasing.
Too much salt (sodium) raises blood pressure, which is the number one risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Also, a high-sodium diet is a high risk factor for esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension.
Eat less salt, should become a health consensus, and the following types of people should eat less salt.
1. People with frequent headaches
A recent study had subjects consume high, medium and low salt diets for 30 days, and found that those who ate 8 grams of salt a day had more than 1/3 more headaches than those who ate 4 grams of salt. Think about your sudden headache experience, is it the day of the dish put too much salt?
2、People who are prone to edema
The water retention in the human body is closely related to sodium intake. Some studies have shown that excessive sodium intake can cause edema, headaches, bloating and a series of other symptoms. Especially for women, the situation will be more obvious in the days before menstruation.
3、People with bad stomach and intestines
Intake of large amounts of food with high salt content will reduce the viscosity of the protective mucus in the stomach, thus reducing its protective effect on the stomach wall, making the stomach wall more vulnerable to injury and leading to gastric disease. Long-term high salt intake will also increase the risk of stomach cancer.
4、People with poor skin
Due to the effect of osmotic pressure, when a large amount of salt is consumed, the water in the body will be reduced and the water discharged from the body will be increased, which will lead to skin dehydration and is not conducive to moisturizing.
5、People with chronic pharyngitis
Excess salt will lead to an increase in throat mucus, making the throat more cloudy. People who have frequent throat inflammation or suffer from cough must reduce their salt intake. Including melon seeds, fried peanuts and other nuts fried goods with a lot of salt on the surface should also be eaten sparingly.
6、kidney disease and hypertension patients
The kidneys are a necessary channel for sodium excretion from the body, excessive salt intake will increase the burden on the kidneys. And excess sodium can also cause hypertension. Therefore, people with bad kidneys and hypertension should eat less salt.
7、People with osteoporosis
There is a saying that “less salt equals more calcium.” When salt intake is too much, the body will try to excrete the excess sodium, but at the same time, it will also increase the amount of urinary calcium excretion. This can aggravate osteoporosis.
So the question is, how exactly do we reduce salt when we can’t control our trembling hands when stir-frying?
Cook and prepare food with less salt, while reducing the use of salty sauces and condiments (such as soy sauce, soup mixes or fish sauce).
When cooking, use sour seasonings as appropriate to increase your sensitivity to salty flavors. Also use sweet seasonings sparingly, as sweetness can mask salty flavors.
Put the savory seasoning last. This way the seasoning can stay on the surface of the food and reduce the amount.
Avoid snacks with high salt content and try to choose fresh, healthy snacks instead of processed foods.
When using canned or dried vegetables, nuts and fruits, choose varieties without added salt and sugar.
Avoid the habit of adding salt and salty condiments by not putting them on the table.
Read the nutrition labels on food packages and choose products that are low in sodium.
