Photo by Jason Tuinstra on Unsplash
There’s a wide variety of salt out there to choose from–fleur de sel, kala namak, red Hawaiian, black Hawaiian, pink Himalayan, Celtic, iodized, kosher, Mediterranean Sea, to name a few. Some of it comes from salt mines in the ground, while other varieties result from evaporating the water out of salt water. What they all have in common is that famous mineral: sodium.
Salt is used both to give food flavor and as a preservative. It helps to preserve food by drawing out the water that bacteria and mold need to grow; hence, it keeps the food from spoiling quickly.
Would you be surprised to know that 75% of our salt intake comes not from the salt shaker, but from processed foods? Snacks like chips, pretzels, and salted nuts are included here as processed foods, but so are canned foods, pickled foods, boxed foods, deli meats, restaurant food, and fast food.
Salt vs. sodium
Salt is actually sodium chloride and is about 40% sodium and 60% chloride; this means that one teaspoon it (5,000 milligrams) contains about 2,000 milligrams of sodium.
Sodium itself is not that bad. In fact, it’s an essential mineral and an important electrolyte in the body. It helps with fluid balance and proper nerve and muscle function.
Too much sodium, however, is far from good. Regularly ingesting too much sodium can increase your risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, stomach cancer, and kidney stones.
That one teaspoon of about 2,000 milligrams of sodium is pretty much your entire day’s quota. People who eat a lot of pre-made and packaged foods tend to eat way too much sodium. In fact, 90% of American adults consume more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, and the average intake is closer to 3,400 milligrams of sodium per day.
If you’re at high risk for the conditions I just mentioned, then you probably shouldn’t consume more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium each day.
Salt and high blood pressure
How does salt increase blood pressure? And what does that have to do with it making you thirsty? Well, there actually is something called salt-sensitive high blood pressure. Here’s how it works:
- The salt you eat gets absorbed quickly and enters the bloodstream.
- Your body recognizes that the blood is too salty, so more water is added to the blood to dilute it (via thirst signals to make you drink more fluids).
- More water in the blood means your heart needs more fluid to pump and more fluid pushing against the walls of your vessels.
- More blood then gets sent to the kidneys so that the sodium can be filtered out into the urine.
This is how too much sodium increases your blood pressure. Increased blood pressure also puts a strain on your kidneys and other sensitive vessels, including critical vessels in your brain and heart.
You can counteract this effect of sodium by reducing the amount of salt you eat, from both processed foods and the salt shaker. In fact, limiting salt intake has been shown to slightly reduce blood pressure.
Pro Tip: You can reduce high blood pressure by eating more whole foods and mineral-rich plant foods.
Conclusion
If you are healthy and eat mostly whole, unprocessed foods, then you probably don’t need to worry about your salt intake. Feel free to add a bit of salt during cooking or at the table for flavor.
However, if your doctor has told you to reduce your sodium intake, then cut back on the processed foods you eat, add less salt to the food you consume, and include more plant-based foods in your diet.
Recipe: Low-sodium Italian spice mix
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 ½ tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- ½ tbsp onion powder
- ½ tbsp garlic powder
Directions:
- Mix all ingredients and place in a sealed container. Sprinkle where you would normally use salt. This is especially good with Italian-style dishes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Tip: Feel free to play around with the ingredients. If you hate oregano, leave it out. If you love garlic, add more.
I use a calorie counting app that also breaks down how much sodium I consume. I’m over the limit almost everyday and the only thing that would make it intentional is the stuff I put on my popcorn. The rest of the sodium is already there in the foods I eat. I wonder if I could learn to like Italian Spice popcorn. I’m willing to give it a try. It’s so hard to not eat the processed stuff. Sigh. But I’d at least try first with the seasoning my popcorn differently.
Kenya G. Johnson recently posted…Letter to People Who Can’t Seem to Change
That’s a great first step, Kenya: trying out Italian spice popcorn. Salt is so insidious, like you noted, that it takes a concerted effort to stay on top of it. But products like Herbamare are good alternatives too. The key is to slowly reduce the processed food. Half the battle is won there!
It’s unbelievable how much salt is added to processed food – even food that doesn’t taste salty at all! As you say, eating whole/real food is the easiest way to curb that intake!
You’re right, Dana. The sneakiest salt “situations” are those in which the food doesn’t even taste salty. Whole foods for the win!