Sodium

Did you hear about the proposed salt ban in New York City? About a year ago, State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, a Brooklyn Democrat, introduced a bill that would ban the use of salt in NYC restaurants. Violaters would face up to a $1,000 fine! Naturally, all of the chefs in the city opposed this idea. Who would come to the restaurants if their recipes didn’t include salt? Americans love salt; we’re addicted. This bill never passed, but could we be seeing more proposals like this in the future?

The benefits of salt: When we talk about salt with regard to nutrition, we should technically be referring to sodium. Sodium is important because it helps maintain the balance of fluids in your body, helps transmit nerve impulses, and influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles.

The risks of too much salt: Intake of sodium causes an increase in blood volume and blood pressure. Thus, the most common risk of high sodium intake is hypertension, which is linked to many other problems such as blood clots, stroke, and heart attacks. It can also lead to abnormal heart development, osteoporosis, dehydration, and electrolyte imbalance, among other things.

Most Americans consume too much salt. Nearly every recipe we own at least calls for a pinch of salt, whether the dish is actually salty, spicy, or sweet. It will probably be a long time before we see any significant changes in our country’s sodium consumption, but there are a few simple steps you can take to reduce the amount of sodium you personally take in (besides avoiding recipes that contain salt, because you probably won’t be left with much).

First, you can substitute your regular kitchen salt with Morton’s “lite salt” which is a 50/50 blend of regular table salt and potassium chloride. This can make reducing the sodium in your diet feel like less of a change, because you do not have to reduce the amount you add; it simply contains less sodium. This substitute is safe and ideal for normal, healthy person, but should not be used by those who are already on a sodium or potassium restricted diet. Another action you can take is to reduce the amount of processed foods or prepared foods that are in your diet; these usually contain an unhealthy amounts of sodium, much higher than a typical, home-cooked meal made from fresh ingredients (even if salt is added).