Get the Salt Out

by Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph. D. , C. N. S.

  The use of salt in the cooking and processing of foods is so widespread that getting the salt out clearly requires a multidimensional approach. It means developing a “salt savvy”—learning where salt normally is found and how to do without it creatively and tastefully.

  The tips in this book will help you do exactly that, but you may not be willing or able to try every suggestion. Remember that the tips were written to give helpful hints for people wanting to slightly reduce their sodium intake as well as for salt-sensitive individuals who need to severely restrict their sodium intake—and everyone in between. Just begin using the tips that seem most helpful and appealing to you, and your success with those tips may motivate you to try others in the future. Even if you use only one-tenth of the tips in the book, you’ll almost certainly reduce the salt in your diet in a significantly healthy way.

  To help you in your quest to get the salt out of your diet, I have marked tips throughout this book with Salt Shaker ratings, ranging from one to three. (Tips without a Salt Shaker rating don’t require one. They are simply general concepts you need to understand to help you develop your salt savvy.)

  One Salt Shaker refers to tips and recipes that contain healthy sodium that totals 140 milligrams or less per serving. This includes all foods that are labeled “sodium free,” “very low sodium,” and “low sodium.” It also distinguishes recipes that are low in salt as well as those that contain no added salt, salt-containing condiments, or salty ingredients. The recipes in this category use only unrefined whole foods, contain more potassium than sodium (as virtually all natural foods do), and should be safe for very salt-sensitive individuals and those on low-sodium diets.

  The Two Salt Shakers ranking is given to foods that contain between 140 milligrams and 250 milligrams of sodium per serving. This includes sodium-rich natural foods like crab, and recipes that contain small amounts of added salt or salty processed ingredients like cheese. These foods usually are well tolerated by most healthy adults who are on prevention-oriented, health maintenance diets.

  Foods labeled with Three Salt Shakers provide more than 250 milligrams of sodium (or 1/8 teaspoon of salt) per serving. Recipes with this ranking are quite high in sodium, but they offer a superior alternative to the usual high-sodium fare because they supply natural sources of sodium instead of refined salt or because they contain high amounts of potassium and other minerals that negate some of the hazardous effects of a high-sodium intake. Tips designated with Three Salt Shakers can be used as beginning steps when you feel that you’re addicted to salt and are trying to cut down. They also can be used for occasional “splurges” when your diet as a whole is low in sodium. If you have trouble reducing the salt in your diet, eating foods designated with Three Salt Shakers is a great place to start. Remember, though, that eating these foods alone will not reduce your sodium intake enough to be within the FDA’s recommended maximum daily quantity of 2,400 milligrams of sodium. To keep your sodium intake within these guidelines, at least be sure to balance your intake of One, Two, and Three Salt Shaker foods.

  Although some of us may not be able to enjoy our best health on an extremely strict low-sodium diet, this book still emphasizes One Salt Shaker tips and recipes. This is because you can salt according to your individual needs and tastes at the table and easily change One Salt Shaker into Two or Three Salt Shakers if needed. If you add slightly more than 1/16 of a teaspoon of salt per serving to a One Salt Shaker recipe, it will become a Two Salt Shaker recipe; ⅛ of a teaspoon of salt per serving changes the recipe into Three Salt Shakers.

  How much salt you should add to foods will depend on such things as your salt sensitivity, your unique sodium needs, and how well you eliminate processed foods and salt used in cooking. If you’re concerned about adding natural salt at the table, you need to understand that while sodium needs do vary, reducing sodium too much can be just as harmful as consuming large amounts of it. Too little sodium can cause spasms, poor heart rhythm, and sudden death. A study reported on in the June 1995 issue of Hypertension found that hypertensive patients who consumed the lowest sodium intake were actually four times more likely to have heart attacks than other participants in the study. Low salt, not no salt, appears to be best as a permanent way of eating for most individuals.

  Of course, you should receive most of the sodium to meet your requirements from natural foods. Just a shake or two of salt added to foods usually is all most of us need or want. As you gradually get the salt out of your diet, your tastes will change. You’ll be able to discern many subtle flavors that you used to miss completely, and you’ll begin to enjoy and prefer low-salt food after a short adaptation period of just two to eight weeks. When you use the flavorful cooking tips in this book, meals will no longer overemphasize the salty taste alone, but instead they will be transformed into whole new adventures in taste and aroma. You’ll also find that you have a great deal of freedom in the variety of meals you can eat when you reduce your sodium intake. You can have most of the foods that you thought were forbidden—nachos, sausage, and even pickles—as long as you prepare those foods with salt savvy.

  In addition to the 501 tips that will help you develop your salt savvy, this book also includes Bonus Tips, which are not specifically about getting the refined salt out of your diet. They will, however, make things easier in the kitchen, add to your nutritional knowledge, and help you to be a smarter food consumer in general.

  Throughout Get the Salt Out, I refer to other books both as sources of recipes and as references for related topics. Learning how and why to cook without salt are complex subjects, so you may want to refer to these books for more detailed information on specific topics of interest to you. A list of the books appears in the bibliography at the back of this book.

  In addition to the books, I also mention specific brands of products that can be helpful when trying to stick to a low-to moderate-sodium diet. The products I have mentioned can provide quick convenience without the salt that normally accompanies prepared foods. Although the emphasis in the diet always should be to eat as many fresh, natural foods as possible, it’s important to understand that packaged and convenience food products can be used as long as you select them carefully.

  As I explained in the Preface, sodium requirements and salt sensitivity vary from individual to individual. Some of us are extremely sensitive to the tiniest bit of salt, while others seem to be able to handle large amounts. Even if salt doesn’t seem to be a problem right now for you, remember all the evidence showing that long- of salt takes a serious toll on the body. Most Americans would benefit by reducing sodium intake by at least half.

  How far you go in your quest to reduce your use of salt is entirely up to you. It will depend on your individual biochemistry, your present health condition, and how well you develop your salt savvy. Whatever your long-term sodium-reduction and health goals are, make sure to celebrate each successful step that you make toward achieving them.

  Incidentally, although you may not realize it, the fact that you are reading this book means that you already have taken your first step. You have decided to pay attention to the scientific evidence about salt and sodium and put that knowledge into action to improve your health. Congratulations and good luck on your new adventure!

  Get the Salt Out of Your Kitchen

  Many salt-reducing tips are versatile. Once you learn them, you can use them when making anything from breakfast to party foods. They can be utilized repeatedly, anywhere and anytime, until they become habits and maybe even family traditions.

  The tips in this chapter are your beginning lessons, and they should become your mainstays. They are fundamental ways to break the salt habit—basic concepts that will teach you how to limit, substitute, or eliminate salt in the foods you put in your shopping cart, the foods you have in your kitchen, and the way you prepare food.

  Begin by remembering the concepts and using the tips that seem most simple and appealing to you. Once those tips become second nature, try using
other suggestions that seem more unfamiliar to you.

  Making lifestyle changes is never easy, but it’s particularly difficult to change dietary habits that have been ingrained since childhood. The liberal use of salt is automatic for most Americans. Breaking this habit usually has to be a gradual process, and its best to proceed at your own pace.

  It also helps when you know exactly how and why you should get the salt out of your diet. The tips in this chapter cover those important how’s and whys and serve as the foundation for all of the other tips in this book. Get to know this chapter well and keep reminding yourself that the efforts you make today will pay off in rewards to your health in the future.

  TOP TEN TIPS

  1 Avoid processed foods as much as possible. Products that come in boxes, packages, and cans are designed for a long shelf life and are the number-one source of salt in our diets. In addition, they frequently contain sodium additives and preservatives, sugar and hydrogenated fats, all of which are known to cause health problems. For all of these reasons, your top priority in getting the salt out should be to eliminate these refined, fake foods.

  2 Think fresh and natural. Nature designed foods that are perfect for us—low in sodium but otherwise filled with nutrients. Fresh plant foods and unprocessed animal foods fit this description; all others don’t. Therefore, choosing foods low in sodium is relatively easy: when in doubt, opt for the more natural food choice.

  3 Substitute unrefined sea salt or Real Salt for common table salt in your salt shaker. Remember: the kind of salt you use is just as important as the amount of salt you use. Common table salt is harmful; it doesn’t dissolve in the body and tends to build up. Unrefined sea salt and Real Salt, however, are “good” salts the body can easily use for the many roles sodium plays. See Resources in the back of the book for information on where you can purchase Real Salt.

  4 Use only the amount of salt that is right for you. Sensitivity to salt, even to “good” kinds of salt, is an individual response. Some of us can tolerate moderate amounts easily, while others do much better with very little. Add the amount that is right for you. At home, have each family member salt his or her own food.

  5 Eliminate, or at least reduce, the amount of salt used in cooking. Salt added during the cooking of foods accounts for a big chunk of the sodium we consume: 45 percent. It also is not tasted as well by our taste buds as salt that is added to foods after cooking. Therefore, feel free to use natural salt at the table (which accounts for only 5 percent of our sodium intake), but try to eliminate salt and salt-containing ingredients from your recipes.

  6 Become a consumer-sawy food detective: seek out products that are low in sodium or have no salt added. An unsalted product used in place of a regularly salted ingredient often can reduce your sodium intake by hundreds, sometimes even a thousand milligrams, in one meal alone!

  7 Make your meals come alive with savory salt-free seasonings like garlic, herbs, and spices. If you use these seasonings in your cooking, then eating can become such a flavorful experience that you’ll never even miss the salt.

  8 Use naturally salty nutritious foods like unprocessed cheese and reduced-sodium tamari (see tip 63) in small amounts. When your diet as a whole is low in sodium, you can afford small amounts of salty natural foods in your diet for flavor. Remember to think of these foods as condiments though: a little bit of them can go a long way.

  9 Emphasize the K factor at every meal. K is the chemical symbol for potassium, a mineral that counteracts the effects of too much sodium in the diet. It is known to protect against hypertension, strokes, and heart disease. All natural foods contain potassium, but fresh vegetables and fruits contain the most. Therefore, in keeping with the National Cancer Institute’s “Five a Day” campaign, try to have at least five servings of vegetables and fruits each day.

  10 Eat for taste and good nutrition, not just taste alone. Remember, our taste for salt has far exceeded our need. Food manufacturers and restaurants, in fact, frequently take advantage of the human taste for salt, making profits off the sales of poor-quality, nutrient-deficient but heavily salted foods we otherwise would not eat. It’s important to remember that your taste for salt can lessen, but your fundamental requirements for nutrients have to be met each and every day. They simply can’t be met by a diet high in salty processed foods.

  TRICKS OF THE TRADE

  11 Do not eliminate salt cold turkey. Getting the salt out of your diet too fast and too drastically can stress the heart and be harmful. Better to substitute unrefined forms of salt for common table salt and …

  12 Gradually cut the salt you use in cooking. First, try reducing the salt in a recipe by one-quarter or one-half. Continue to reduce the salt each time you make the recipe until you eventually use little or no salt in cooking.

  13 Add salt to foods after cooking for better flavor. Salt added before or during cooking never tastes as salty as salt that is added after cooking. The flavor dissipates in the cooking process. Make the salt you do use go further by adding it later.

  14 If you crave salt, it’s a likely sign that your adrenal glands, which help you deal with stress, are tuckered out. That’s at least what Douglas Hunt, M.D., says in his book No More Cravings (Warner Books, 1987). If “stressed out” sounds like you, you need to strengthen those adrenal glands by being especially good to yourself, learning to relax, and paying particular attention to the tips in the sections Nutrient Necessities and Dealing with Stress in chapter 10. (This advice can’t hurt even if you don’t have weakened adrenals.)

  15 According to Chinese medicine, salt cravings can be the body’s attempt to balance too much sugar or alcohol in the diet. Cut down on sugar and alcohol to make it easier for you to get the salt out of your diet and to improve your health in general.

  16 An exaggerated appetite for salt can sometimes be a symptom of impending hypertension as well as an important contributing factor. Have your blood pressure checked regularly no matter what you eat, but especially if you can’t seem to taste salt well and tend to use lots of it on your food.

  17 Be sure to get enough sleep and rest. This is a simple but frequently forgotten prescription for health that can make reducing salt in the diet much easier. It also can help hold salt cravings at bay. You see, when your body is tired, it wants energy. Salt can temporarily increase the metabolism of a tired body, which is why you may crave or even binge on salty foods when you’re fatigued. Unfortunately though, salt does not correct the exhaustion you may feel. The only solution is to give your body proper, balanced nourishment and adequate rest.

  18 Eat more meals at home, where you can oversee the ingredients. When you make simply prepared meals at home, you can avoid the unnecessary salt and sodium that are often hidden in restaurant food.

  19 Remember this: a liking for salty food is one of the easiest eating habits to get over. According to Andrew Weil, M.D., author of Natural Healthy Natural Medicine (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990), reducing salt in the diet is much easier to do than reducing fat or sugar. Dr. Weil says that many humans have a “fat tooth” in addition to a sweet tooth as a legacy of evolution, but our liking for high amounts of salt is a learned behavior that we can easily unlearn.

  TOOLS OF THE TRADE

  20 Buy a set of good, sharp knives to facilitate easy slicing and dicing of fresh ingredients. When you’re venturing into low-salt cooking, the last thing you want is frustration during food preparation because your knives are more of a hindrance to you than a help. Appetizing low-salt cooking largely depends on using abundant, flavorful, chopped fresh produce, so purchase the best set of knives that you can.

  21 Or get a food processor to make food preparation even easier. Whether you need to chop, grate, puree, or blend, a food processor will help you do the work in virtually no time.

  22 A blender is also a handy tool for whipping up quick vegetable-and herb-based sauces and salad dressings that are so tasty you’ll forget all about the salt-laden instant varieties.

  23
Try using waterless cookware, the cookware I use. Waterless cookware will help you get not only the salt out of the foods you cook, it will help you get the sugar and fat out as well. The cookware’s amazing design allows food to cook in its own juices at a constant 180 degrees—the temperature that kills off E. coli, salmonella, and other unwanted microorganisms but allows all of the vitamins, minerals, and natural flavors to remain. To cook the most delicious and easiest salt-free foods you’ve ever tasted, treat yourself to a Royal Prestige cooking set. To order or to get more information, call Uni Key, which is listed in the Resources section.

  24 A wide-mouthed thermos is helpful for taking low-sodium soups, stews, and leftovers to work with you. When you have warm soup from home all ready to eat, you have instant fast food that’s both economical and healthful.

  25 Invest in a good pepper mill. Fresh-ground pepper always perks up salt-free food more than preground pepper.

  BONUS TIP: According to Paul Pitchford, author Healing with Whole Foods (North Atlantic Books, 1993), freshly ground pepper is more desirable than commercial ground pepper for another reason: commercial ground pepper is roasted, a process that makes the pepper become an irritant to the system. When you grind whole fresh peppercorns in a pepper mill, you avoid this problem.

  26 Consider getting a spice grinder, a small, hand-turned mill that allows you to make freshly ground herb seeds, spices, and seasoning blends of all types. Remember: the fresher the flavor in your food, the less you’ll miss salt.

  27 Speaking of flavor, a mortar and pestle are musts for bringing out the peak taste and aroma of herbs and spices. It takes slightly more time to crush herbs and spices than to use ready-made ground seasonings, but the extra flavor can’t be beat.