One of the good things our government has actually done for us is mandate nutrition labels on our food. The problem is--is anybody reading that material besides me? I know members of my family don't because they haven't got a clue about the amount of sodium they're ingesting.
I don't cook with salt. I even cut the amount of salt in the recipes I include in my books because YOU DON'T NEED AS MUCH AS EVERYONE SEEMS TO THINK YOU DO.
That's why I'm really rather horrified by the amount of salt in any processed food. I used to eat curried beans. I'd buy a generic can of black beans or black-eyed peas, dump them in a saucepan, add some curry paste, heat through, serve on rice--and voila! A quick lunch. Not anymore. Now I buy dried beans and cook them in the crock pot (without adding any salt). Of course I have enough to feed an army, but luckily I like beans.
And have you noticed that low-sodium canned foods (soup, in particular) is usually DOUBLE the price of "regular" canned food? (It is at my grocery store.) How does this encourage the population at large (especially in these economic times) to lower their sodium intake?
I keep seeing articles in the newspaper Living section about the need to cut sodium in our diets because it's killing us. An enormous amount of our population--including children--is on meds to lower their blood pressure. And why? Because of the amount of sodium they're ingesting.
A big part of the problem is fast food. For instance, according to Wikipedia, a Big Mac has 42% of your daily requirement of sodium. (There's a reason I stay away from these places.) What about the fries and the rest of the food someone typically ingests on any given day? I've also given up eating any restaurant soup, too. Why? Too salty!
The government seems to want to regulate everything else in our lives--why not the amount of sodium food processors are allowed to add to food?
Salt, salt, salt, salt, S-A-L-T!!!
I know one thing--I don't want to have a stroke, so I watch my sodium intake. Everybody should.
And what's bugging YOU today?
That's what pissed me off about low-sodium foods, it cost twice the amount. I started making my own pasta sauce because all of the pasta sauce was over 900mg of sodium. I was surprised when I looked at a can of plain beans and saw the amount of sodium.
ReplyDeleteEver since I spent a year on high-dose steroids, I've learned to watch the sodium in foods. If your lifestyle has you eating out a lot, you'll get into quite a bit of sodium. Between salt and butter, that's how all that food tastes so good. Breads and cheeses have a lot of salt in them, too. I tend to roast chickens just to get the pot drippings (after I skim off the fat, of course) for seasonings.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I grumble at getting canned veggies. I've taken to opening the can, dumping them into a strainer, rinsing them off under running water and then heating them. Sometimes in a bit of low sodium chicken broth.
ReplyDeleteCutting down on salt is fine, however, cutting salt out of your diet completely isn't good either. Surprisingly, you need a bit of salt to help your heart! It is necessary to move the electrical impulses along that are needed to make your heart beat. *sigh* Seems you are damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Irritating, isn't it?
Salt is my foodie weakness. Because of a wonky gallbladder, I've cut way back on fat, and I don't miss it. But salt? I'd miss it more. Especially seasoned salt. But that said, growing a garden has helped with lowering sodium intake. :)
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