::Low Salt Foods - Page 1 ::

FINDING LOW SALT FOODS - a quick guide

The Australian Dietary Guidelines are a quick way to control about a dozen salt-related health problems, including even the vertigo of Meniere's Disorder.

Many people are amazed - don't scoff until you control salt with good lab results (Salt Matters, Appendix 2)*.

1. follow the salt guideline at all times - choose foods low in salt.

2. eat more fresh foods - they are low salt foods with rare exceptions (Salt Matters page 270)*.

3. choose processes foods only if they are low in salt (sodium not above 120mg/100g).

LOW SALT (LS) FRESH FOODS

These include the healthiest produce on the market, like fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh meat, fish and poultry, unsalted nuts and milk. With vinegars, herbs and spices they can make delicious meals.

LOW SALT PROCESSED FOODS

These are hard to find but will be easier when more customers ask for them. Just check the Nutrition Information Panel on the label. Food labels must show these panels by law.

Look at the panel to the right:

find the 100g column
find the sodium
check across and find 60mg/100g
this yoghurt is a low salt food, as sodium is less than 120mg/100g

If you want low salt flaky cereals, Freedom Foods make cornflakes with 109mg/100g. Kelloggs make Just Right (30mg/100g) and Sustain (97mg/100g). Most people who were buying Sanitarium Weet-Bix (280mg/100g) are just as happy with Sanitarium Lite-Bix (20mg/100g).

BREAD - Some bakeries sell 'salt-free' (meaning no added salt) bread, and you can make your own in a bread machine. The taste is different, but (as with sugar in tea) it is salty bread - like sweet tea - that you dislike when your palate adjusts. Salt Matters has a whole chapter on bread.

LUNCH and MAIN MEALS - You can dine well on all the fresh meat, poultry, fish and vegetables that the shops provide. Cook them without salt by roasting, baking, barbecuing, stir-frying, microwaving, slow cooking or pressure cooking. Vegetables are full of flavour without adding any salt when roasted with a joint or steamed - but boiling them would boil out the flavour.

ADAPTION OF THE PALATE - The best salt substitute is an adapted palate. Nature rapidly repairs the damage that salt has done to your taste buds. Many people who used to love olives find then intolerable within four weeks (the sodium content of seawater is 1000mg/100g and green stuffed olives have over 2000mg/100g).

LOW SALT STOCK POWER - Stock cubes are almost pure salt but the LS stock powers on page 4 are full of flavour. Get them in health foods shops or by mail order (Salt Matters page 255).

DISCLAIMER - The National Dietary Guidelines benefit all Australians, except a few with special medical needs. If you are pregnant, ill or taking prescription drugs, see your doctor and Salt Matters Appendix 1 (on skipping salt safely) before changing your diet.

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