Dealing with high blood pressure
If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, one of the first things your doctor will tell you is to cut down salt intake.
For many people, those words bring on visions of being forced to survive on bland, tasteless food for the rest of their life. That needn’t be so. If you give it a go, you’ll find that you can adjust to low-salt foods quite well and a lot faster than you think.
Here are several salt reduction tips to help you out.
* Substitute salt with herbs, spices and seasoning blends that are free of salt. Use them both in the kitchen and at the table. Herbs can enhance your health in some ways and don’t have many of the risks associated with salt.
* Use fresh vegetables and fruits as far as possible. If you need to buy canned or frozen stuff, make sure they have no salt added. Most processed foods have salt added to them because salt is a preservative. Plus, salt lends flavoring as well.
* Buy fresh poultry, lean meat and fish rather than canned versions. If you must use canned foods like tuna, rinse them well before using to remove as much of the salt as possible. During the manufacturing process, they add salt to foods like tuna. Rinsing them will remove some of the residue left on the surface.
* Avoid cereal mixes, instant rice, pasta, etc which contain salt. Instead, cook rice, cereals and pasta at home without salt.
* If you are like many folks, you may find it difficult to avoid buying convenience or processed foods altogether. In that case, inspect the food label carefully and choose only foods that are low in sodium. Where possible, cut back on pizzas, frozen dinners, canned soups and various packaged mixes which usually contain lots of salt.
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