For goodness sake, go salt-free

The typical modern, Western diet is rich in highly salted foodstuffs which worsens high blood pressure. Tshidi Mametsa reports on ways to cut down on the salt content in our diet. Most families have someone who suffers from high blood pressure but who still consume food with a high salt content which worsens high blood pressure.

13 Apr 2010

Health authorities recommend consumption of no more than 6g of salt (2,4g of sodium) a day, but most adults on a typical western diet, consume about nine to 12g.

Only about 20% of sodium intake comes from salt added to food during preparation or at the table. The rest comes in processed and animal-protein foods.

University of Limpopo researcher, Refilwe Galane Masokoane says: “Meats with a high salt content include ham, bacon, corned beef, frankfurters, sausage, tongue, salt pork and smoked beef. And fish such as pickled herring, anchovies, tuna and sardines have a high salt content.
“But fish should form part of a healthy diet, so rather opt for fresh or frozen fish instead of canned fish. Choose tuna in water, and not in brine. Avoid smoked fish and rinse fish like tuna to remove excess salt,” she says.

“Also be careful of foods that have a high fat content and use smoked or salt-cured meat products only in small amounts for flavouring, Rather opt for chicken or lean cuts of meat when you have a choice,” says Masokoane.

Meat extracts and stocks used in soups, stews and risottos, are salt bombs. Home-made stock and gravies are best.
“It's easy to make your own chicken stock simply by boiling chicken bones with vegetables like carrots, leeks, onions and celery,” says Masokoane.

And salted snacks such as potato chips, tortilla, corn chips pretzels, salted nuts, popcorn and crackers are really bad news, she says.

Tips to avoid highly salted food:

Include nuts in your diet, but go for the unsalted variety.
Pop your own popcorn and use the minimum amount of salt.
Check the labels of chips and crackers and always go for the reduced-salt products (if the labels only indicate sodium content, multiply the value by 2,5 to get the salt content).
Most commercial salad dressings have a high salt content. “However, there is a great variation among different products. So, it's important to check labels,” says Masokoane.
Make your own salad dressing using a little vinegar, olive oil and herbs.
Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, tomato sauce and barbecue sauce are usually packed with salt. “In fact, tomato sauce contains more salt than sea water,” says Masokoane.
Limit your use of prepared sauces. Rather use herbs, spices and other seasonings such as horseradish (wasabi), Tabasco sauce, lemon juice and vinegar, to season foods.
Most processed foods are high in salt without tasting obviously salty.
Check the labels of ready-made meals - a cup of canned soup contains about 1000mg of sodium, almost half the recommended daily amount! Rather choose products labelled as “sodium free, low sodium, reduced sodium, or unsalted”.
Blue cheese and feta cheese have a far higher salt content than cottage cheese or mozzarella. Avoid cheese spreads and processed cheese.

Source: Sunday World

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