Please Don’t Pass the Salt
There was an article in The San Diego Union Tribune yesterday about salt.
“The FDA is considering a proposal to remove salt from its list of foods ‘generally recognized as safe’ or GRAS.” If the FDA removes salt from their GRAS list, manufacturers could be limited in the amount of salt they use, meaning that all their recipes would have to change.
We all know too much salt is bad for your health. Research has linked it to high blood pressure and heart disease. The current recommended guidelines by the American Heart Association suggests we limit our intake of sodium to less than a teaspoon (or about 2,300 milligrams) a day.
So, being the health conscious individual that I am, I walked over to my refrigerator and started reading the packaging labels. Some items were low in sodium: Wheat Tandoori Nan 250 mg.; Whole Wheat Bread 135 mg; Veggie Burger 360 mg; 9 pieces of frozen cheese ravioli 290 mg; 1 cup vanilla nonfat yogurt 105 mg. Then I gasped: Tofurkey Polish sausage 660 mg; 1 cup Chicken Tortilla soup 1190 mg (okay, I think we had a discount coupon for this – but still); frozen turkey slice in gravy 660 mg for one slice (approx. 2” X 3”). Yikes!
So the lesson here is read the label. What’s in your refrigerator?
Posted: February 20th, 2008 under healthy eating.
Comments: 6
Comments
Comment from Debbie
Time: February 20, 2008, 10:42 am
This is very interesting. When I cook, I rarely use salt, but rather depend on herbs and spices to flavor the food. A friend of mine uses SaltSense because it’s 1/3 less sodium. Thing is, she uses tons of it! I’m glad sodium content in store-bought foods might have to be reduced. Just looking at the numbers you posted makes my fingers swell!
–Debbie
Comment from Lyndi
Time: February 20, 2008, 11:38 am
Sandy,
My husband was told to lower his blood pressure last year, so we started reading labels. I was surprised at how easy it was to change his diet just a little and how much difference it made. His blood pressure was down noticeably the next time he went to the doctor. 
I like your stained glass pictures.
Lyndi
Comment from Sandy
Time: February 20, 2008, 3:00 pm
Debbie,
I’ve heard that using herbs and spices to flavor your food is much healthier than using salt substitutes. Same goes for sugar substitutes - it’s better to use a little of “the real thing” than to add all those chemicals in your body from the substitutes. It’s amazing the more we discover new ways to process foods, the more unhealthy we become. I’m all for organic and fresh foods, but I’m also so addicted to some of the comfort foods like chocolate
Comment from Sandy
Time: February 20, 2008, 3:06 pm
Lyndi,
I think a lot of people these days think that medication solves the problem of high blood pressure or high cholesterol. They don’t have the support or encouragement to watch what they eat. The body is a pretty amazing object. It can cure itself of many of our ailments - in many cases all we need to do is lead a healthy lifestyle.
Here’s to good eating, good exercise, and overall good living
Comment from Beth Yarnall
Time: February 21, 2008, 2:46 pm
Yikes! I love salt. I add extra salt to my salted fries. My fridge doesn’t have one single thing called Tofurkey in it. I’m in trouble!
Comment from sandy
Time: February 21, 2008, 8:00 pm
No Beth, I’m the one in trouble with the Tofurkey. That is NOT a healthy food, no matter how much tofu is inside. Wonder how it managed to get into the house?
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