480 Why exercise regularly? One of the most important reasons is because physical activity is very effective for reducing stress: it relieves irritability, anxiety, and depression, and helps create a feeling of emotional well-being. As you will recall from Dealing with Stress, the previous section, reducing stress normalizes sodium levels.
481 Exercise’s other benefits also might make you a convert. It reduces the risk of death in men from all causes by 70 percent and lessens the risk of heart attack by 39 percent. It also helps prevent and alleviate high blood pressure (a fact that I’m sure is appreciated by everyone who wants to get the salt out). Other advantages of physical activity include:
increased circulation improved appetite
increased oxygenation better digestion
cardiovascular toning improved eliminations
regulation of the glandular system enhanced immunity
lowered cholesterol increased self-esteem
increased confidence enhanced metabolic rate
stronger bones and muscles control of blood sugar levels
regulation of insulin production increased flexibility
(List adapted from my book Super Nutrition for Men)
Make no mistake about it: regular exercise helps you not only get the salt out but also is one of the best overall ways to promote your health that you can do!
BONUS TIP: Take mini-exercise breaks at work. Stretch, touch your toes, do knee bends, and even calisthenics for five or ten minutes instead of taking a coffee break. Even this small bit of activity promotes a mental lift and a sense of calmness and centeredness.”
SLIM FOR KEEPS
482 An added benefit of salt restriction is weight loss. Salt is so known for causing water retention and weight gain that many health spas have a policy in which no salt is used in food preparation. The miraculous weight loss experienced by many spa guests after a few days is mainly because their salt intake has been restricted. If you avoid salt at home, you can accomplish the same results as the spas do (without the hefty spa bill).
483 If you are overweight, it’s especially important for you to get the salt out. Reducing salt can decrease an average person’s weight by as much as two to three pounds in one day, but it can drop a severely obese individual’s weight as much as ten pounds in a single day.
484 If you’re sensitive to salt or suffer from edema, use the following clues and symptoms as signals to tell you that you’ve eaten too much salt:
pants that fit well yesterday but don’t fit today
sore, swollen ankles
a puffy face
shoes that you wear every day suddenly becoming too tight
fingers that are so swollen you are unable to take off your rings
If you experience any of these, know that they are telltale signs that your body wants you to get the salt out.
485 Say “no thanks” to so-called “diet shakes.” They stress the body’s metabolism more than help it, and they couldn’t possibly help you lose fat because they’re sources of undesirable sodium and sugar. (They may, however, cause you to lose muscle mass, which is exactly what you don’t want.) With some varieties containing caffeine and other varieties containing as much as 460 milligrams of sodium and 33 grams of sugar, these shakes act as antinutrients and are just plain dangerous.
486 Despite what you might have heard, lean meat is not high in sodium nor is it fattening. Although animal protein is higher in sodium than fruits and vegetables, it still is low in sodium. Contrary to popular belief, eating animal protein in moderation also encourages weight loss. First, protein-rich meat promotes proper fluid balance. If protein is lacking in the diet, water retention and water weight gain develop. More importantly, protein-rich meat stimulates fat loss. It causes the body to produce glucagon, and glucagon is a hormone that allows the body to efficiently burn off its stored fat for energy. To encourage efficient weight loss, include at least two servings of animal protein each day, and always balance the protein with lots of salad or low-starch vegetables.
BONUS TIP: don’t eat large servings of luncheon meats as a way to increase your protein intake. Processed meat products like these have as much as ten to fifteen times the sodium as fresh meats. Eating these meats encourages water weight gain instead of weight loss.
THE REST OF THE WORLD
487 Enlist the assistance of others to help you get the salt out. Try going on the buddy system with a friend or family member who also is reducing their salt intake. The support and camaraderie of having someone else in your shoes makes eliminating salt easier, much more fun, and usually more successful.
488 Hire a qualified nutritionist, especially if you have severe salt cravings.
489 Play a game with your children by challenging them to help you find acceptable low-sodium foods in the grocery store. They usually enjoy helping you and think the game is fun. They also learn a lot about food (and how much salt and sodium there is in food) in the process.
490 Start feeding your children unsalted foods when they’re babies. You’ll give them a healthier start and prevent them from developing a potentially dangerous desire for excessive salt, which would cause problems later on in life. Don’t think keeping salt away from children isn’t helpful for their health: studies with animals suggest that babies are less capable of excreting excess salt than adults. In addition, high-sodium intakes early in life may predispose babies to developing hypertension as adults.
BONUS TIP: As further proof that low-sodium nutrition is best for babies, consider that human milk, the ideal food for infants, naturally contains a low amount of sodium, regardless of how much salt the mother eats. By comparison, cow’s milk, which is ideal for calves, contains 600 percent more salt
491 The best way to guarantee that a child won’t become addicted to salt is for that child to have a parent who isn’t. Get the salt out of your diet and let your child learn by example.
492 Don’t give your child salty snacks as rewards, and ask the same of day care providers, teachers, and relatives. Remember, a liking for excessive salt is a learned behavior, so it’s important not only to encourage them in their efforts but also to discourage your children from indulging in salt.
493 Be creative when packing your children’s school lunches by providing low-sodium, nutritious foods that their friends would want, too. One snack food that certainly fits that description is unsalted blue or red tortilla chips. If you pack fun, novel, tasty foods like these, you certainly will encourage your children to eat low-salt foods, and you may unknowingly influence your children’s friends as well!
494 Add spice to life by planning fun times with interesting people. If you find yourself wanting the taste excitement of salt, consider whether you don’t really want emotional or mental stimulation instead.
HEALTHY ATTITUDES, HEALTHY LIFE
495 Don’t get discouraged. Persevere, even when it seems like everyone around you is eating too much salt. You have to understand that you now know a secret that many others have yet to learn: maintaining discipline over your intake of salt and unhealthy sodium is an important key to long-lasting health. Continue to remind yourself of this.
496 Reinforce your commitment to eat healthfully as much as you need to in order to ensure success. One technique that works well is to post on your refrigerator positive affirmations as well as a list of the many reasons you want to avoid salt. Then every time you begin to open the refrigerator door, you receive helpful reminders about why you want to keep the salt out.
497 Envision yourself easily being in control of the salt you consume and having a healthy attitude about food in general. Positive mental images often translate into positive results.
498 Concentrate on improving yourself, even when others close to you are not interested in doing the same. If others see how helpful reducing salt is for you, they might follow your lead. Even if they don’t, you need to do what’s right for you. Your primary responsibility in life is to be the best person (physically, ment
ally, and spiritually) that you can be.
499 Do things you haven’t done before. Foods loaded with salt no longer seem so necessary when you give yourself the “charge” of stimulating, new activities.
500 Value yourself enough to nourish yourself with life-giving whole foods (instead of eating life-draining processed foods, as so many Americans do). Certain cultures, such as some Native American tribes and the Chinese, believe that both plant-based and animal-based whole foods have a life force that strengthens our own life force when we use those foods for nourishment. As you’ve learned, natural foods like these also help support good health because they’re low in sodium but otherwise dense with nutrients.
501 Treat yourself to experiences you can savor many years from now. In the long run, the things you remember are not the salty foods you’re eaten but the warm, meaningful experiences you’ve shared with people you love.
These days, advice about sodium can be as misguided as all the conflicting advice about fat.
Although Americans know the hazards of too much fat in the diet all too well, many still eat too many processed foods with the wrong kinds of fat and too few natural foods with the right kinds of fat. This same situation, unfortunately, is also happening with sodium.
Get the Salt Out was written to set the record straight: the truth is that we all need sodium, but too much of the wrong kinds can cause disease. The sodium found in natural foods is a good source of sodium that helps support good health. However, refined table salt, which is found in virtually every processed food and salt shaker across the land, is not.
In this day and age, when fat is wrongly blamed for all our health problems, it’s often easy to forget that table salt truly is bad for us. There is no doubt, however, that table salt is a real villain that contributes to serious disease.
Now that you know this and you know the secrets of how to get salt out of your diet, it’s your responsibility to use this information to your advantage and become a food consumer who is seasoned as well as savvy about salt.
A WEEK OF SAMPLE MENUS
The following sample menus for a week represent one way to incorporate this books low-salt tips into everyday eating. It’s meant to provide you with meal and snack ideas, not something that should be followed to the letter.
The sum of the amount of sodium in the food on each day’s menu totals less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium—an amount that is appropriate for most people on a low-sodium diet. If you want a more moderate sodium intake or if you have higher sodium needs because of specific physical conditions, you should add extra salt at the table to meet your requirements.
Even if you’re on a low-sodium diet, you still can enjoy foods you may have thought were forbidden. This menu shows you that foods such as pizza, pretzels, and even sauerkraut can all be included, as long as you are careful about using any salt when you prepare or select them.
This menu illustrates how to include many tasty foods you’ll relish, but it may not be your ideal eating program. The secret of developing a low-salt diet you can stick to is to personalize what you have learned about salt and create an eating plan that works for you.
MONDAY
Breakfast:—Cream of rye cereal topped with crushed caraway seeds and homemade yogurt cheese (see tip 140)
⅓ cantaloupe
Lunch—Lean homemade roast beef sandwich on salt-free rye bread with sliced onions, red leaf lettuce, and a dab of Instant Horseradish Sauce (see tip 293)
½ cup Salt-Free Sauerkraut (see tip 203)
2 unsalted whole-grain pretzel twists dabbed with unsalted mustard
Dinner—Sole almondine (3 ounces baked sole topped with a tablespoon of toasted slivered almonds and a dash of almond oil)
Steamed green beans
Baked Apples with Walnuts, Raisins, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg (see tip 378)
TUESDAY
Breakfast—1 hard-boiled egg sprinkled with salt-free herbal blend and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup oatmeal topped with 1 tablespoon toasted pecans, 1 teaspoon currants, and 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
Lunch—1 cup Spring Minestrone (see tip 187)
½ cup Fresh Herbal Tabouli (see tip 202)
Snack A few low-sodium, whole grain, bible bread (sprouted) wedges dipped in Winter Bean Pâté (see tip 357)
Dinner—2 broiled lamb chops with rosemary or oregano leaves and garlic, sprinkled liberally with fresh lemon juice
1 cup Greek-Style Spinach and Brown Rice (see tip 255)
WEDNESDAY
Breakfast—Shredded wheat or other low-sodium, sugar-free, ready-to-eat cereal topped with ½ sliced banana, 1 tablespoon toasted hazelnuts, and ½ cup nonfat milk
Lunch—Grilled Mexican Turkey Burger (see tip 232) with lime wedge
Grilled zucchini slices brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic powder
1 cup unsalted baked corn tortilla chips dipped into Simple
South-of-the-Border Salsa (see tip 339)
Dinner—Mixed green salad with shredded carrot and green pepper slices topped with Sesame-Lemon Dressing (see tip 210)
Spicy Thai Shrimp Soup with Fresh Cilantro (see tip 185)
THURSDAY
Breakfast—2 slices low-sodium, whole grain sourdough toast spread lightly with unsalted peanut butter
Sliced pear
Lunch—Vegetarian Chili (see tip 260)
15 small grapes
Snack 1 Mushroom Broccoli Cheese Muffin (see tip 437)
Dinner—Spiced Beef with Wine, Ginger, and Garlic (see tip 229) Sesame Broccoli and Carrots (see tip 275)
FRIDAY
Breakfast—2 Low-Sodium Turkey Sausage patties (see tip 157)
1 Wheat-Free Banana Muffin (see tip 142)
Lunch—T.L.T. Sandwich (see tip 316)
1 no-salt-added pickle
Dinner—Tandoori Chicken (see tip 236)
½ cup brown basmati rice made in low-sodium or homemade chicken broth with a pinch of saffron
½ cup unsweetened pineapple chunks
SATURDAY
Brunch— ½ grapefruit
2 eggs (or 1 egg and 2 egg whites) scrambled together with chopped tomato, peppers, onion, and marjoram
½ cup baked home fries made with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkled with onion powder and a dash of cayenne
Snack— ¼ Turkey Sausage Pizza (see tip 301) or a serving of Nachos (see tip 304)
Romaine lettuce salad with chopped radish and jicama topped with Herb Dressing (see tip 208)
Snack—3 celery sticks spread with unsalted cashew butter
Dinner—Poached salmon fillet topped with a tablespoon of Greek Tzatziki Sauce (see tip 294)
Steamed artichoke with low-sodium herbal vinaigrette
½ cup steamed asparagus spears sprinkled with tarragon vinegar or other herbed vinegar
SUNDAY
Breakfast—Annette’s Oatmeal Waffles (see tip 146) topped with
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce or 1 sliced fresh peach
Lunch—Homemade salad Niçoise with 3½ ounces low-sodium canned tuna; ½ cup steamed and cooled diced potatoes; ½ cup steamed and cooled French-cut green beans; ¼ cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced; ¼ chopped tomato; and chopped fresh parsley topped with a low-sodium herbal vinaigrette
Dinner—Roast Cornish hen meat rubbed with sage
Baked sweet potato with 1 teaspoon unsalted butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon
Steamed cauliflower or brussels sprouts sprinkled with salt-free dill seasoning
BIOFORCE OF AMERICA, LTD.
P.O. Box 507
Kinderhook, NY 12106
(800) 445-8802
This company distributes the herbal salts Herbamare and Trocomare, mentioned in tip 59. Unlike other herbal salts, these products are made from unrefined sea salt that is cured with dehydrated vegetables and herbs. They are available in several different sizes, including a handy 3.2-ounce shaker that is easy to carry with you to restaurants.
FRENCH MEADO
W BAKERY
2610 Lyndale Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 870-4740
French Meadow Bakery is the only company I know of that makes naturally low-sodium sourdough bread with unrefined sea salt. It also makes salt-free rye bread. All of these delicious, healthful products are available through mail order if you are unable to find them in health food stores.
THE GRAIN AND SALT SOCIETY
P.O. Box DD
Magalia, CA 95954
(916) 872-5800
This organization sells unrefined Celtic sea salt, which is available through mail order only. It also distributes valuable information about the health benefits of unrefined sea salt.
LANG NATURALS
850 Aquidneck Avenue
Newport, RI 02842
(800) Sauce-4-U
(800) 728-2348
Lang Naturals is the manufacturer of the nine different award-winning Mr. Spice sauces, which are free of salt, MSG, and sodium. If you’re on a low-sodium diet, or if you’re just looking for tasty low-sodium condiments, these sauces are worth seeking out. Call the company to find a location in your area that sells them or to order them directly.
REDMOND MINERALS
P.O. Box 219
Redmond, UT 84652
(800) 367-7258
The maker of Real Salt, this company also sells an ultra-small convenient salt shaker that is perfect for all your dining-out and traveling needs. If you can’t find Real Salt, or if you would like to try the traveling Real Salt shaker that I so highly recommend (particularly if you eat out often), call the company directly and ask about its special introductory offer.
Get the Salt Out Page 18