Marching Into The Peace Corps, pt 8: Swinging Away In The Salt Trap
by There are many dieting pitfalls out there, and one of the most controllable factors is the intake of salt. The body needs some salt to regulate blood pressure, but too much in the diet is known as the “silent killer”. You’ve thrown out your salt shaker and believe you’re doing good, but have you really looked around in your kitchen? Are you miscalculating your sodium intake by mistake?
The other good thing about cleaning out the cabinets and refrigerator is that I know there will be no unacceptable foods entering my mouth and nothing to sabotage the diet. Not having a vehicle means I have to walk to the store a couple of times a week, and it means I don’t run out for fast food or sweet snacks on a whim. I think about not only about the food I’m choosing, but the amount of space in the backpack as well as the weight I’ll have to carry home.
I may not have been able to control my dieting before, but now I have no choice but to do the right things and eat properly. It’s certainly not practical or even an option for a family with kids, but at least watching what actually comes into your house is achievable.
Here’s one tip that can help in ridding your food of salt: place the food in a bowl of water and rinse it a few times, then let it set for a half an hour. Salt “holds” water in the body, and since it’s naturally drawn to water, it’s drawn out of the food.
Of course this won’t work for soups, but I find with packaged veggies that have added salt, and even fish fillets, it works pretty well. I also give it a hand by steaming the fish and veggies, knowing the dripping water will carry away some measure of sodium. If you choose canned tuna, you can try and rinse the excess salt out, but I will warn you the flavor is a bit “lacking” after this. I’ve tried the lower sodium options, and they were awful in my opinion, but they might taste great to you.
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quazen.com articles by this writer can be found here
socyberty.com articles can be located here
relijournal.com articles are here
picable.com photographic images are here
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