SALT - how bad is it??

[almeeker]

I use sea salt for cooking and iodized salt for the table (your body needs a certain amount of iodine and it's added to salt for just that reason like vitamin D is added to milk). We also only use home canned tomatoes and frozen veggies from the garden. Cutting out soda took a load off my sodium intake as did omitting most processed foods. I still end most days rather higher than I should, but it's a start.

[Meggietye]

Salt is a big culprit in elevating blood pressure which is the measurement that tells us how quickly our arteries are hardening...everyone here has given such good ideas for lowering our daily intake. Dr Oz says to just make one change at a time to form a good habit and that sounds like wise counsel to me! ( I do best not trying to take on more than one thing at a time )

[taubele]

There's a lot of research out there that says it takes a person anywhere from 14-20 times of "doing" something (anything you want to change, like salt or sleeping) for it to become a habit So making one change at a time until it is a habit is not a great way to go.

I used to pour salt over my food as well, though I've switched to just adding non-salted herbs to food, and that perks up the flavor some, to the point where I'm not a little sensitive about salt. I started this about 6 weeks ago. Right now I'm in love with a seasoning bland from Perfect Pinch (McCormick) called "Savory" -- it's no-salt, has a lot of different herbs in it (chili pepper, thyme, oregano, rosemary, ginger, cinnamon, tumeric acid, paprika along with lemon and orange zest), and really perks up the flavor of almost any meat (though I find I don't like it on fish). They have a bunch of "salt free" ones and it makes adding herbs a breeze. Of course I'll add fresh herbs too when called for

Just experiment. Salt masks so many other great flavors!