Tip Of The Week: Healthy Eating

“Salt Is Essential,
But Too Much Is Bad News.”
― Valentin Fuster, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of Mount Sinai Heart, and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital

 

Healthy eating tip 10: Watch your salt intake

Sodium is another ingredient that is regularly added to food to improve taste, even though our body needs less than one gram of sodium per day (about half a teaspoon of table salt). Eating too much salt can cause high blood pressure and lead to an increased risk of kidney disease, heart disease, stroke, erectile dysfunction, and memory loss. It may also worsen symptoms of bipolar disorder. 
Evaluating your salt intake starts in your kitchen. How much salt do you use to cook your meals? Do you use MSG (seasoning cubes)? And of course how much processed food do you eat?

“The “cube” is a staple in almost every Nigerian kitchen. We use it in our soups, stews, vegetables and sometimes rice dishes. It is such a popular ingredient that over 1 million cubes and tablets are sold throughout West and Central Africa, every single day.  However, did you know that each cube can contain as much as 2000 mg of sodium? That is the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of salt.  What more, Nigerians use at least 2 cubes per meal and often add more salt  while cooking or eating. Given the high amount of salt in cubes, it is time to rethink our seasonings.” -  Radiant Health Magazine

Cutting down on these non-naturally occurring foods, is your first line of defence when reducing your salt intake. If you use a lot of salt and seasoning cubes in your meals, you can start to reduce your risk of health problems by cutting down on the amounts you use.

• Use herbs and spices such as curry powder, garlic, cayenne or black pepper to improve the flavour of meals instead of salt.
• Be careful when eating out. Most fast food and restaurant meals are loaded with sodium. Some offer lower-sodium choices or you can ask for your meal to be made without salt and or seasoning cube.
• Buy unsalted nuts and add a little of your own salt until your taste buds are accustomed to eating them salt-free.