I got a shocker when I
learned this, and had to share! I was like OMG!!
Do you know that excess
salt consumption could sabotage your weight loss? Yes, OMG!! It could also
actually affect your appearance by making you look puffy [a polite way of
saying FAT], bloated (due to water retention)?
Do you know that it could also
contribute to high blood pressure? Right about now you should be asking ‘So, my
salt intake can actually hinder my efforts to lose weight?’ YES!!!
Other than that, it can really mess up one’s overall health…
Other undesirable effects
of excess salt consumption include:
ü
Stroke
ü
Heart
disease
ü
Stomach
cancer
ü
Osteoporosis
ü
Kidney
stones
ü
Headaches
ü
Enlarged
heart muscles
Very
undesirable, right?
If
you are like me, you would/should be keen on cutting your salt intake -avoid
consuming too much salt. Here are some ideas I discovered:
1.
Beware of
ready-made foods like packed soups. Although they are marketed as healthy
options, they actually have an unhealthy amount of salt – sometimes over 2.5g
of salt per 250g serving (almost half of the adult daily recommended intake of
6g). Think about it this way – you want to lose weight and have 3 packed soups
in one day – that’s 7.5g! Then we wonder why we are having constant headaches
and our BP is escalating? (for ‘we’, read ‘I’).
It’s not because of the stress of the diet…it’s the
salt! L
2.
I was very happy
when I heard that the best breakfast is a bowl of oats (porridge) rather than
cereal – coz that’s what I have for breakfast most days. From an article on www.heart.org I gather that most cereals are quite high in salt with
some having as much as 2.2g/100g serving! I have taken to reading the labels to
make sure I am not dozing myself with salt. Both my parents are hypertensive,
and prior to my new lifestyle I was on BP medication. Other options for
breakfast include – egg, fruit…etc. Its about choices...we all need to make the choices that support a healthy lifestyle.
3.
Fresh is best! I
hear that this is Jennifer Aniston’s secret to her beautiful skin and hair!
With the hustle & bustle of life, we tend to reach for the fast option –
the cakes, meat pies, packet soup, baked beans, sandwiches, corned beef …you
know! All of these have far too much salt (sodium) – much more than we actually
need. So, whenever possible avoid processed foods; opt rather for freshly made
food (I don’t mean freshly baked bread…lol) like fresh salads, grilled
fish/meat, soup, boiled plantains, fresh fruit, fresh smoothies (rather than
packed fruit juice) …! Fresh also means less sugar, so on every side it is
better!
4.
A know a lot of
people who won’t eat until they have reached for the salt cellar on the table
and added more salt to their meal. I have a thing – I think salt should be
cooked (yep! COOKED). Call me crazy, but I will not add ‘fresh’ salt to already
cooked food – I think it’s unhealthy. I have no scientific evidence to support
this, it’s just my craziness! But hey! It helps keep my salt consumption down! J
5.
In one of my
earlier posts I mentioned that I hardly ever actually cook with salt (if I can
help it), what I do is get creative and use spices to add flavor to my meals.
Really good alternatives to salt include onion powder – but I go the extra mile
and use garlic powder and turmeric as well. I actually swear by turmeric to
help bring out all the natural good flavor of my food! Try
it, and let me know. You can also experiment with herbs like rosemary
(works well with jollof rice, meat & even fish), oregano, thyme etc.
You may want to try something I did: I premixed some cinnamon,
nutmeg, black pepper, garlic & onion powder, used a mortar and pestle to
grind them fine and stored in an air tight container. This is now my go to when
I want to grill fish or chicken. It’s one way I reduce my salt consumption.
Give it a try, and let me know how it goes.
6.
Check label when
you buy. Any sodium above 0.5g/100g is HIGH, and 0.1g/100g is low. Remember the
recommended daily allowance of salt for an adult is 6g, so do the math. The
things you chose to eat add up in much more than calories – salt adds up too. And
when the salt adds up…the blood pressure goes up as well.
Don’t be shy to read the label before you move items
off the shelf in the store to your shopping basket – I can say this because I used
to be shy – used to think people would think I was ignorant when I read the
label before adding the item to my shopping basket. NO!!! It is the ignorant
who do not read what’s in the condiment/soup packet/cereal box, canned food etc
before buying. Remember GIGO? Garbage In; Garbage Out! Same thing applies here
(my opinion).
I
hope you have been inspired and educated! And become more committed to cut down
on your salt intake….it does help as we drop it for life! J
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learning so much from drop it. thx
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