The simplest solution would be to reduce salt intake, but this is not so simple.
In the previous section, I presented the alarming global and domestic data on obesity and tried to give general guidelines on how to eat properly.
In the current section, as promised, I will begin a detailed discussion of how we can make our lives and the environment healthier by making mostly simple changes, while also dispelling some misconceptions.
A few sentences about healthy nutrition, from a medical point of view
For the body, sodium chloride, colloquially known as table salt, is essential for the maintenance of the mineral household. However, a very small amount of it is required, and this is more than covered by a balanced diet. In our country, however, we consume more than three times the WHO recommendation (5 g/day). A survey carried out in 2009 showed that the average table salt intake in Hungary is 12 grams for women and 17 grams for men.
The increase is directly proportional to the increase in blood pressure and thus the development of high blood pressure (hypertension in medical terms). This disease is also called a silent killer, since it is relatively mild or does not cause any symptoms at all, but its long-term existence (up to a few years) results in diseases with tragic endings. Hypertension is responsible for a significant part of heart attacks, heart failure, atherosclerosis, kidney failure and the vast majority of strokes.
The simplest solution would therefore be to reduce salt intake, but this is not so simple.
Unfortunately, it is a fact that some of the food manufacturers are not interested. Salt is the cheapest flavor enhancer; it retains water, so the mass of the product increases; if the food is saltier, it is logical that we will be thirsty, so we consume much more soft drinks - this is even supported by research.
Restaurants that do not operate at a high standard basically prepare their food a little saltier, according to some bad language, thus increasing their income through the consumption of drinks.
65-70 percent of the salt intake of the domestic population comes from the consumption of processed foods, and 20-25 percent comes from salt added during cooking or from table salting.
So we take most of the salt into our bodies with semi-finished and ready-made foods.
We cannot influence the salt content of pre-packaged foods, restaurants-canteens, and take-out meals.
But in what can we find more table salt?
For example, in so-called convenience products:
in ready-to-eat meals and soup powders. But the content of dressings, mustard, ketchup, seasonings, and salty baked goods not prepared by us is also very high, not to mention the various snacks (chips, peanuts).
Well, the first thing to do is to consume less of them.
At the same time, 20-25% of the intake is given by the amount added during cooking or separately by salting. We all have friends who automatically salt their food without tasting it, sprinkle extra salt on tomatoes, eat salty bread... Although, as I wrote, in the case of a normal, mixed diet, an average daily diet contains the recommended amount.
At the same time - and this may be the most surprising for many - we would not even notice a 15-20 percent reduction in the salt content of the food! And if we significantly reduce the amount of salt used during cooking, it only takes a few weeks to get used to the less salty taste.
This can be confirmed by the author of these lines, whose family, on the advice of his doctor father, significantly reduced the amount used a couple of decades ago. It was strange for a month, then we got used to it completely, and even started to discover the original flavors of the food.
You don't have to immediately change your cooking techniques (although you can try), but we can remove the salt shaker from the table. That should be the first step. Many studies confirm that we have done a lot for our health with this simple step. And also for the health of our children. For them, reduction is particularly important, if only because the tastes developed in childhood can affect the whole life.
Referenced studies are available from the author.
Featured image: RitaE/Pixabay
