Do you go crazy with salt?

C

chocomore

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I'm trying to cut down on my salt intake but its hard when your used to using salt in nearly everything, l have been reducing my salt in boiled vegetables and ideally l want to stop using salt altogether but that's work in progess l'm afraid to say. Have you had the same problem?
 
Nope, I actually have the exact opposite problem! My mother had it so ingrained into me, along with having to use salt instead of toothpaste as a child, that I hate salt and barely actually consume enough of it to sustain healthy life.

The minimum RDA is something like 180-500mg of sodium which is 1.25g of salt assuming that you are using 100% sodium chloride (refined salt) for salt.
The maximum recommended varies depending on which country you are in, but in the UK it is 2,400mg of sodium (6g of salt 1.25 tsp).
Ideally (if you are in the UK) you should apparently be aiming to limit your intake to 1,200mg of sodium (3g of salt) per day.

Recently I have had to start keeping track of my daily intake of potassium and calcium (due to health concerns), hence finding out about the rather low sodium intake as well which coupled with a lot of cycling/exercise is also a cause for concern. The days that are high are usually when I have eaten an entire packet of wasabi peas...:D

sodium.jpg


As you can see, I still have a long way to go on getting enough Potassium into my diet which is vital for the Potassium/Sodium balance in the blood stream.
UK RDA is 3,500mg.
potassium.jpg
 
Its funny how some people stay away from salt as much as they can and then you have people who more or less pour it down necks.
 
I'd never stop using it altogether however I do try to keep it to a healthy minimum. A good way to start reducing is to cook without salt and then add it only when the food is already on your plate. This way the same amount of salt has a stronger taste which leads to decreased consumption.
 
For health reasons, even though I am healthy and fit at the moment, I use it sparingly. (Prevention is better than cure, blah blah blah). Besides, when cooked properly, fish or meat can provide the right amount of flavor on their own. I can't say the same for spices, though. I love adding herbs and spices whenever the recipe calls for it.
 
I like a bit of salt in my food but not too much. My grandad used to put loads and loads of salt into his food when there was already plenty of salt in the food.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Nope, I actually have the exact opposite problem! My mother had it so ingrained into me, along with having to use salt instead of toothpaste as a child, that I hate salt and barely actually consume enough of it to sustain healthy life.
Click to expand...

Ewwwww!!

I don't consume much salt. My doctor once told me that I needed to increase my salt intake a bit. I am very sensitive to salt. I can even taste it on bottled water.

I use rock salt in a grinder. It gets the job done without making my food salty.
 
Yes. Way overboard. My boyfriend when he met me would joke around asking all the time if I needed more salt or my own personal salt shaker in my purse. Sometimes when we'd kiss he'd joke around by saying, "Mmmmm, salty."

I would add salt to EVERYTHING, and a lot of it. Making pasta? Tons of salt. In fact, I'd give the bowl of noodles a nice top coating, mix it up a bit and eat, then do it again a few minutes later.

When I went to college, however, salt wasn't always available at our dining hall. Okay... actually it was, but for some reason I never noticed it. Even though there were usually salt and pepper shakers on every table. Yeah. Didn't notice until the end of the second semester. I had realized that without the option seemingly available to me, I didn't actually need salt all that often. And when I started using it again, it became too much for me.
 
No, I don't like putting too much salt in anything - It makes me annoyingly thirsty for hours afterwards. My folks went easy on the salt when cooking at home, so I associate anything salty with processed foods, not something home made.

I don't buy into the whole French cooking idea of salting everything as you go. For one thing, it changes the texture of some items in an undesirable way, but the other problem is that in doing so it's very easy to accidentally over salt the dish as a whole.
I tend to do the exact opposite. I purposefully don't salt certain items because I know the final dish already has saltier elements in it. For example if I am making an omelette with swiss, ham, and spinach. I won't salt the eggs or the spinach because the ham and swiss are already salty enough. Besides, I like the contrast of salty/not salty elements.

Too much salt drowns out and masks other flavors. Once you adjust and get used to not over salting, you can start to taste the sweetness, butteriness, fruitiness and other qualities of the ingredients being used.
 
When my father got sick because of kidney failure salt restriction is the number one in the list of dont's that should be avoided. Too much salt can damage our kidneys and upon learning it all of us in the family becomes aware and had change our style of cooking and our eating lifestyle. Processed foods which are loaded also of salt and preservatives are also one of those that we avoid to eat now. We had witnessed the pain my father had gone through that is why we value our health now and only use salt when needed and as much as possible not use it. We had innovate recipes that taste good even without using salt and its for our good health.
 
I used to be heavy-handed with salt. It took me several years to learn how to go easy with this condiment. I have also learned to rely on other spices that are less dangerous to the human body to season my food.
 
In the past I have had high blood pressure and I had to lay off the salt entirely. You would be amazed at how much salt is in the foods that we buy. I had to be very particular with my diet. I now have my blood pressure under control but I use salt sparingly.
 
I do not like a lot of salt, but I do enjoy the taste. In today's fast paced, rushed, world many packaged and convience foods are loaded with sodium. I have started to pay closer attention to labels. I am trying to watch my salt intake as I am trying to manage my high blood pressure. One thing I do really like and sometimes go overboard with is pepper. I love freshly ground black pepper. I use more pepper than I probably should on foods.
 
There are salts that are good for you. I like Himalayan pink salt as my 'everyday salt'. I love smoked sea salt, and I also love black lava salt, although it's more of a finishing salt. I also love the red algea salt from Hawaii. They all contain good for the body minerals and compliment food, bringing out the WHOOSH taste of the real flavor of food, not a seasoning taste, just a more powerful and clear taste of the food itself. .
 
I use to eat so much salt. I am too embarrassed to say how much salt I use to eat. Salt in itself isn't bad, as long as you keep it moderated. Obviously I wasn't, and it seems you are having an issue as well. Well, it took a while, but I found ways to actually cut back. They worked for me, perhaps they will work for you.

My tips are, use salt for only one meal. If you are going to use regular salt, pick one meal for it. Another tip is replace it. I found I love using garlic on everything. I also enjoy red pepper and sage. Not together, but in things. If you flavor a food enough, you won't need salt. I noticed I only use salt when something tastes very bland to me.
 
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