Take Action: 5 Tricks to Reduce Salt In Your Diet

Knowingly or unknown we end up consuming additional salt than the standard amount. We all are aware of the harmful effects of salt on our health as we grow older but unless we take action at an early stage of life, we cannot prevent the side effects of taking too much salt in our diet.

The process of eating less salt should start right from childhood and be accepted as an important diet conditioning in our lifestyle.

The actual amount of salt recommended is not more than 5gms in a day but unfortunately due to our hectic schedule, irregular meals, unhealthy diet and modern lifestyle we end up eating more salt.

So how can one reduce salt intake in their daily life? Here are 5 tricks to reduce salt intake:

1. Choose unprocessed food, fruits, & veggies –

-The market is flooded with a lot of packaged food that looks attractive, tastes good and is easy to eat. But some of them might have high salt content. We do not have any control over-processed foods, but we can opt for not buying them and instead go for fresh fruits & veggies.

-Home-cooked food is best for your health and a steady healthy diet as we have the liberty to add less or no salt to it.

-Eat more fresh food, fruits & veggies. Don’t pick canned foods, ready to eat, artificially sweetened products, meats, frozen food, canned juices & fruits.

-Keep chips, sauces, chutneys & pickles for special occasions & food only. Do not make a daily habit to consume them. Let children also not consume them as once they make a habit they will eat it along with every meal.

-Avoid eating out and reduce weekly takeaways as outside food contains more salt and can have a drastic impact on your health. Order food with less salt as that is best you can do while dining at a restaurant.

2. Don’t add more salt on cooked food-

Many of us have the habit of sprinkling additional salt over food if we find it bland. This is the most annoying act we can-do with our health. Salt needs to be cooked along with food. If you feel the food is bland, squeeze a little lemon over it to modify the taste. Remove the salt bottle from your table.

3. Use more herbs & spices –

While preparing food one can use herbs to neutralize the requirement of salt. Rather than putting salt over curd, salads or snacks, sprinkle them with herbs & seasonings to get the flavour. It makes food tastier and healthier. Herbs have anti-inflammatory properties that boost the immunity level in our body.

4. Check food labels for nutrition value

If you have limited options to cook and need to procure packaged food check the label for sodium content & nutrition value before buying. The sodium content should be low and one can easily compare this with other products. Certain products don’t taste salty but can have sodium content like cheese. The content of each brand varies.

5. Reduce portion size

Reducing the portion size of your daily food intake will not only help in building a healthy diet, reduce weight but will naturally cut down salt intake. You can have a 3 meal plan instead of 4. Evening snacks can be eliminated as most of the time we tend to eat unhealthy fast food in the evening.

Salty taste is acquired! Eating food with less salt is just a matter of habit and can be easily adapted to your existing food preferences.