Sodium is an essential nutrient necessary for the maintenance of plasma volume, acid-base balance, transmission of nerve impulses and normal cell function. But, in excess, sodium has harmful consequences for health, including high blood pressure.
Sodium is found naturally in various foods, such as milk, meat and shellfish. But it is often present in large amounts in processed foods, such as bread, processed meats and snack foods, as well as in some condiments (soy or fish sauce, for example).
Most people consume too much salt, 9 to 12 grams per day on average, twice the maximum recommended intake, says the WHO. However, a salt consumption of less than 5 grams per day in adults helps lower blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and myocardial infarction. The primary benefit of decreasing salt intake is a corresponding drop in high blood pressure.
There are simple solutions and tips to significantly reduce your consumption:
In the kitchen
Use herbs, spices and aromatics instead of salt. Brown your steak in 1 teaspoon of olive oil with garlic, then pepper and sprinkle with thyme or rosemary and you will see that the salt is not lacking. Ditto in your mash if you decorate it with Espelette pepper, coriander and flat-leaf parsley.
To ban
Cooking in water which distorts the taste of food in favor of cooking en papillote, stewing or simmering, in a cast iron casserole dish or an earthenware dish. The must ? Steam cooking which preserves the aromatic and organoleptic qualities of food (soft, crunchy, colour) or the wok whose short cooking time allows vegetables to retain good taste and crunchy texture.
Swap
Bricks of soup, cooked dishes…, where salt is added in large quantities for its role as a flavor enhancer (it enhances the flavor of food), compared to a maximum of homemade preparations. Even if it means defrosting a bag of frozen vegetables special soup to serve them mixed with a little water and fresh herbs…
You have to limit
The deli meats and cheeses as a snack or as an aperitif. Replace dried ham, sausage, chorizo, toast with Roquefort, tarama, ultra-salty biscuits (pretzel type) with small rolls of white ham (at -25% salt) with ricotta or even butter shrimp your way made from very finely chopped monkfish liver and mixed with natural yoghurt. More recipes at www.00sel.com
Remove
The table salt shaker because we are often tempted to add salt to our dish even before having tasted it. Otherwise, opt for a “salt-free” (diet) salt composed, most of the time, of 50% of sodium and 50% potassium and calcium (Salt and Balance type from Cérébos, Minisel from La Baleine).
Source :
- The best diet in the world – Anne Dufour and Carole Garnier, ed. Leduc.S
- Reducing salt intake, WHO, April 2020
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