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A pinch here and a grind there, salt on our food is a habit many of us can’t break, but maybe we need to think about putting some restrictions in place.
While we need some salt in our diet to keep our hearts, bones, muscles and brains working well, too much isn’t a good thing. Going OTT with the salt shaker can raise your blood pressure which increases your risk of developing heart disease, so you need to keep an eye on things.
We know that people sometimes think that going without salt is tasteless, but this isn’t the case, so we have looked at what you can do to keep the salt levels down and your health levels high.
Check it out
When you are shopping, read the nutritional information on labels and where you can, go with low-salt options and ingredients. You will be amazed where salt, like sugar hides. Ketchup, bread, cereals, crackers and even pizzas are packed with the white stuff, so do your research and start to make sensible swaps.
Change habits
Like most things, making small changes and taking things one step at a time is the key to salt reduction success. Add less salt to your food when you are cooking, and don’t even put the salt on the table when you are eating. Cutting down this way means your taste buds will adapt and over time you will simply get used to a new normal when it comes to salt and food.
Look at spices
You don’t have to flavour your food with salt, there are healthier options out there. Black pepper, herbs, garlic, spices like turmeric as well as garlic and lemon juice all pack a flavour punch but without the health hazards of salt. With this said, do read those labels again when it comes to things like soy sauce and seasoning packets as some of these are very high in salt and worth avoiding.
Go meat free
A lot of processed meat comes with a lot of salt, so just look at how much you are eating and where changes can be made here. Those gammon steaks, bacon butties and sausage casseroles might taste great, but part of that comes from all the salt. Even if it is once or twice a week, go meat free and look at some of the veggie and vegan options that are out there, and you might find you actually prefer them.
Salt swaps
We all know that snacks like crisps and some nuts come with a heavy salt serving, so swapping for chopped fruit and vegetables with dips, and make salty foods such as bacon, cheese, takeaways and ready meals a treat rather than an everyday occurrence.
Just think about it, with the experts saying that we should eat no more than six grams of salt each day – that’s about one teaspoon – if we want to be healthy, maybe it’s time we went back to basics and looked at just how much we are eating and where changes can be made for a brighter future.
Team Pure Beauty
