Get the Salt Out Read Online Free PDF Page B

the salt.
    8Use 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.
    9Emphasize 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 containpotassium, 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.
    10Eat 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

    11Do 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 …
    12Gradually 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.
    13Add 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.
    14If you crave salt, it’s a likely sign that your adrenal glands, which help you deal with stress, are tuckered out. That’sat 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.)
    15According 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.
    16An 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.
    17Be 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.
    18Eat 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.
    19Remember this: a liking for salty food is one of the easiest