How Much
How much salt should be in our daily diet?
If you are like me, we love salt. It makes everything taste better, but we’ve been told not to eat too much of the stuff – right?
The AHA – American Heart Association says that we shouldn’t have more than 2300 mg of sodium per day which is equal to one teaspoon of salt.
What happens if we don’t?
They also say that excess sodium in our diets may harm our kidneys (stones) and promote high blood pressure which leads to other nasty things. Excess sodium is also linked to stomach cancer.
Sources of Sodium
The most common source of sodium in our diet is table salt which is sodium chloride which contains 40% sodium. Some of the minor sources are baking soda which is sodium bicarbonate and MSG which is monosodium glutamate. A tablespoon of baking soda contains roughly 1 gram of sodium. Even lesser sources are sodium nitrate (saltpeter) which is a preservative in food and sodium ascorbate which is used as an antioxidant and is added to antacids and such.
All processed foods and canned foods have added salt unless they specifically state otherwise.
Conclusion
This ones pretty simple. I’m not going to stop using salt. I’m going to only add salt while I’m cooking and only at the end of the cooking process. I’ll avoid the salt cellar and drink my bloodies and Salty dogs with just a little salt on the rim. But, I don’t yet have a problem (excluding kidney stones) and I’ve been a dietary Flexi-vegan-tarian * for for over a month now.
*Note: I eat a vegan diet with eggs and cheese occasionally
So like everything else we preach here on the Fat Farm, avoid processed and canned foods when possible and eat as much fresh vegetables and fruits as you can to live happily ever after – jughandle