Control salt intake to maintain health

Now, many of us have realized that long-term high-salt diet is one of the important causes of high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis, obesity and other diseases, and reducing sodium intake can better prevent them. Let's talk about some tips on how to keep a light taste while eating less high-salt (sodium) foods!

1. Put 5% to 10% less when cooking

Reducing cooking salt by 5% to 10% usually does not significantly affect the taste of dishes, and helps people gradually adapt to and develop a light and low-salt diet. Based on the daily personal salt intake, you can set a reasonable salt reduction goal, gradually reduce the intake step by step, and eventually reach the goal of no more than 5 grams of salt per day.

2. Pay attention to the "invisible salt" in food

The salt content in food is not proportional to the saltiness, and you cannot judge whether the salt intake is excessive just by tasting it. Although many processed foods do not taste salty, salt is added during the processing, such as condiments such as ketchup and jam, instant noodles, frozen foods, noodles, bread, biscuits and other convenience foods, and snacks such as spiced melon seeds, preserved plums, and French fries. It is recommended to read the nutrition label carefully when buying pre-packaged foods. The sodium (Na) content on the nutrition label indicates the salt content. Try to choose foods with low sodium content.

3. Diversified cooking methods

It is recommended to try more cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, and blanching. The best time to add salt is before taking the food out of the pot, so that the salt remains on the surface of the food, which can retain the saltiness and avoid adding too much salt. Leafy vegetables can be added with salt just before turning off the heat, and root vegetables such as potatoes and lentils, which have a dense texture and are not easy to absorb flavor, can be salted when they are 80% to 90% cooked.

4. Use natural ingredients to enhance the flavor

When cooking, you can choose ingredients that have natural umami flavors, such as celery, onions, tomatoes, and coriander. In addition, you can also use ingredients such as green onions, ginger, garlic, chili peppers, peppercorns, and curry to enhance the flavor, and use sour substances such as lemon and vinegar to enhance the salty taste, thereby reducing the amount of salt used.

5. Use more salt control tools

Only by quantifying salt can you know your salt intake. You can choose a salt-limiting spoon as a quantification tool. According to the specifications of the salt spoon, you can know the amount of salt to add when cooking every day. Note that it is 1 flat spoon, and it cannot be too sharp. In addition, you can choose reduced-salt soy sauce to control salt intake to a certain extent. It should be noted that patients with kidney disease should consult a doctor and should not blindly choose low-sodium salt.