The Sense of Taste – OR – 8 Ways to Reduce Salt in Your Diet
Salt has been with us for awhile.. Go back in time about 6000 years and you’ll find salt being processed in Romania and China. It was prized by Hebrews, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Hittites and Egyptians.
Historians tell us that salt extraction and rapid rapid population growth happened at the same time.
Salt has a history of being an issue in wars up to and including the 20th century. Governments throughout history have imposed salt taxes on their people…and throughout time people have revolted. Think the French Revolution, and Mahatma Gandhi’s protesters.
Salt has been used as currency. The word salary comes from from the word salt. Salt was traded for gold in some historical cultures.
On a religious level, salt has long been an important part of ceremonies in most of the world’s religions.
Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans used salt and water in their offering ceremonies. Some scholars tell us that this was the basis of the Holy Water used in some Christian ceremonies today.
We know that the Aztecs used salt and salt water in their fertility rites.
Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, and Shinto followers all use salt in religious ceremonies.
Salt plays a strong part in the Old Testament which has many references to salt. One famous bible story describes Lot’s wife being turned into a pillar of salt as she looked back at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as they were being destroyed.
The New Testament has references to salt.
Celtic rituals use water with salt added.
We flavor our foods with seasonings in five categories: sweet, sour, salt, bitterness, and umami.
We exercise our sense of taste when we eat food. The sense of taste works with the sense of smell to help us taste food.
As a culture, we have a taste for salt…so much so that some of our citizens suffer with high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease.
All of us, without exception, will improve our lives if we can reduce our intake to one teaspoon of salt per day. So, how do we do this?
Cut Down on Processed Foods. This is easily done by eating less processed food. Cut back on pizza, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, deli/luncheon meats. Buy fewer canned foods such as chili, soups, stews, ravioli. A key here is fresh foods have lower amounts of sodium.
Cook More Meals at Home. When you prepare meals at home, you’re spending less on food and can control what goes in it. Cooking meals at home allows you to limit the amount of salt used in your food..
Eat Veggies and Fruits. Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables naturally have less sodium. Include a vegetable or fruit at every meal.
Cut Back on Salt Slowly, a little at a time. This way you’ll become accustomed to the natural taste of food. Learn to season your foods with herbs, spices, garlic, and lemon.
Read the Labels Many canned goods have more than a daily serving of salt. Find products that are “low salt”, “no salt”, and “low sodium”. A caution here: sometimes the processed foods which are labeled “low salt” are “high sugar”. Don’t trade one bad habit for another.
Skip the “high Sodium” Condiments. Avoid high sodium ketchup, pickles, olives, salad dressings, soy sauce. Choose those seasoned with reasonable amounts of salt.
Hide the Salt. Don’t put salt on the kitchen counter or the table. Use low salt seasonings instead.
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Peace and food for all.
Thurman Greco
