It is necessary to reduce the intake of salt to protect our heart. It’s not always easy, but with these simple tricks, we’ll learn not to give up.
If a recent study by the European Society of Cardiology showed that a healthy diet is decisive for staying in shape, this certainty extends to the need to reduce the consumption of salt in the diet. As discussed in the European guidelines on hypertension, This habit is necessary to avoid cardiovascular risks. This week, the WHO and the Pan American Health Organization celebrate Salt Consumption Awareness Week: How can we make our dishes tastier without this flavor enhancer? There are ways to eat less salt: let’s look at some of them.
Fresh food better than cooked
The more processed a food is, the more sodium it will carry. so I Try filling your plate with foods that don’t require cooking: Vegetables, fruits and green leafy vegetables. Obviously, we can boil vegetables without salt, but we’ll lose nutrients and flavor. And how can we cook without looking to cut back on sodium?
Prepare your food without (or with very little) salt
What we’re looking for is to enhance the flavor of our meals with low sodium products, so let’s use our imagination. fresh or dried herbs, spice mixes, grain or powder mustard, black pepper, so-called garlic salt and in salads, vinegar or lemon juice, They are some of our great allies. We must be equally careful if we consume low-sodium salt, as it is usually rich in potassium, which is also harmful.
See the labeling of baked products
One is visible salt, which we use when cooking, and one is invisible salt, which is used in foods that are already sold to us processed or ultra-processed. This is what we should control the most: Let’s not buy foods that contain more than 1.5 grams of salt per 100 grams of product. If we have problems with high blood pressure, it is also advisable to pay attention to the purchased mineral water: always choose the one that is indicated as very weak mineralization.
Yes, There Are Healthy ‘Snacks’
If we’re tempted to snack in between meals, beware: This is where our salt intake skyrockets. Almost all of these products not only provide something good nutritionally, but also They contain excess of salt which we should avoid. but we have Breakfast Tasty and healthy in the supermarket: The raw nuts, Which we can toast at home and they are delicious.
raw vegetables Carrots, celery or cucumber and a homemade hummus for dipping make a delicious snack: Reduce the salt as much as possible and add garlic, cumin, lemon juice, paprika and coriander. You can also make potato chips, artichokes, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, etc., by baking them with a little oil and rosemary. Finally, dried fruit is another great low-salt option, although we should be more careful about sugar.
Reducing salt intake is a process of weaning
You have to go little by little, but keep moving forward. The first thing to be tough is: Eliminate snacks and ultra-processed foods because of their added salt, and opt for fresh produce instead. Later, in your day to day, we should train the taste buds and gradually reduce the salt that we add while cooking. If we do it little by little, we will not notice the difference.
