You can't live without salt. Sodium helps to maintain your blood's water content, serves to balance the acids and bases in your blood, and is necessary for the movement of electrical charges in the nerves that move our muscles. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the American Heart Association recommends that adults consume around 2400 milligrams of salt a day. This is the amount in 1 teaspoon of salt. Normal salt balance can be maintained with 500 mg per day. However some Americans are consuming as much at 5000 mg per day. That is ten times as much as they really need!
There are lots of good reasons to cut the salt in your diet, from reducing your blood pressure to eliminating water-retaining sodium bloat. It's simple to do! Just follow these tips from the experts at Harvard Medical School:
• Cook with herbs, spices, fruit juices, and vinegars for flavor rather than salt.
• Take the salt shaker off the table.
• Avoid eating out, or buying prepared foods, they are normally loaded with salt.
• Start reading food labels.
• Buy snacks marked low-salt or low sodium.
• Choose low-salt alternatives whenever possible (fresh or frozen vegetables or low-salt canned versions instead of regular, for example).
The following processed foods are particularly high in salt. However, many manufacturers have begun to lower the salt in foods thanks to many years of recommendations from health organizations. You may find several of the foods in a low salt form. Check the label!
Anchovies, Bacon, Bouillon cubes, Canned soup, Canned tuna, Canned vegetables, Cheese, Cold cuts, Condiments, Cooking sauces, Cottage cheese, Croutons, Gravy, Ham, Hot dogs, Olives, Pickles, Salad dressings, Salsa, Sausage, Sea salt, Soy sauce, Spaghetti sauce, Tomato or vegetable juice,
After you give your taste buds a week to adjust, you won't even miss the salt.