Addicted to salt?

[gail2]

I have loads of salt on everything. i dont just season it i wrap the food in it
Could i be doing myself harm?
Is my body trying to tell me something?

 

[mashedupmatt]

You need to be careful with Salt - salt is needed in the body but in excess it can increase your blood pressure, increase the chances of heart disease/stroke, and it's not too kind on the kidneys too - try substituting it with herbs & spices, lemon, garlic, that type of thing to enhance flavour in other ways (but I have to have it on chips!)

 

[Leadinglights]

I have loads of salt on everything. i dont just season it i wrap the food in it
Could i be doing myself harm?
Is my body trying to tell me something?

Everybody needs some salt to keep their electrolytes in balance, just not too much as that is not good for blood pressure.
They say no more than 6g per day including salt that may be in foods, sauces etc. That is about 1 teaspoon.
I thought I was using too much so did an experiment and thought taking account of what might be in foods already I weighed out 3g and only used from that in what I added or put on food and actually most days I didn't use even half of it.
I do think now I have become accustomed to less salt and some things can taste too salty which they never did.
A friend who has kidney problems always put way too much salt on his food, he had a chip with his salt.

 

[silver minion]

As the others have said, too much salt is not good for you. Like sugar, your palate learns to enjoy the extra salt and food can seem bland without it. I would try @mashedupmatt suggestion and use other flavours to season your food.
After a while your palate adjusts to less salt so it is worth persevering. I bought a cheap pepper grinder and filled it with a mix of peppercorns, chilli flakes,fennel, coriander and a small amount of salt. We use it on most things. Great with eggs, fish or chicken.

 

[pjgtech]

I have loads of salt on everything. i dont just season it i wrap the food in it
Could i be doing myself harm?
Is my body trying to tell me something?

Hi, like you I love salt, but yes, it is not good for you in high doses, as it can contribute towards high blood pressure, amongst other things.
I have high BP, so I try to limit the salt that I have. Although now that I have lost a fair bit of weight (currently 30+lbs) my BP does seem to be slowly going down...

 

[nonethewiser]

Not good for you can seriously damage your health.

Don't use much salt but decided to switch to low salt couple of years back, just buy Sainsbury's own which is cheaper than big name brands.

 

[gail2]

im trying hard to cut down have for 3 days had no salt on meals but dinner today i had a very small amount i am trying but missing it Is there one kind of salt that is less harmfull ie @nonethewiser suggested low salt any good?
cheers
gail

 

[mashedupmatt]

Well done @gail2 - lo-salt is marginally better as it contains less sodium I understand, which is better for you in the long run

 

[gail2]

Well done @gail2 - lo-salt is marginally better as it contains less sodium I understand, which is better for you in the long run

might get some i have lower salt marmite and no added salt with other things
cheers for that
gail

 

[Leadinglights]

Lo-salt is 66% potassium chloride and 33% sodium chloride so if you are not supposed to high potassium foods because of problems with kidneys, it may be better just to have less normal salt.
My impression is it is not as 'salty' as actual salt so don't be tempted to use more as that would be no better.
It is not particularly expensive so you could try it.