Simple Steps to Reduce your Salt Intake
Due to years of eating manufactured foods with a high salt content and the use of salty seasonings and condiments many of us have developed a preference for the taste of salt in our diet and when salt is removed, our food can taste bland. However you can reprogram your taste buds in two to three weeks to a diet lower in salt and there are many alternative ways of adding flavour to your food. Once adjusted, foods will no longer taste bland and you will begin to enjoy the natural flavours.
Tips for reducing salt in your diet
- Do not add any salt during cooking or preparing food
- Do not add salt to your food at the table. You may need to reduce the amount of salt you add gradually over a couple of weeks
- Reduce your intake of salty processed foods (e.g. ham, bacon, salami, sausages, pate, smoked fish), convenience foods (e.g. pizza, pasties, ready meals, canned/packet soups) and fast foods and snacks (e.g. crisps, salted nuts, burgers, chips, salted popcorn and takeaways)
- Check food labels and choose products with a lower salt content
- Look for lower salt versions of your usual foods in the supermarket (e.g. canned vegetables with no added salt, tinned fish in spring water, low-salt baked beans)
- Cut out or reduce the amount of sauces such as soy sauce, ketchup, brown sauce and salad dressings as these can be high in salt and will increase the salt content of your meal
- The salt content of stocks can vary quite a lot. Remember to check the labels and try to buy low salt versions (see stock our page)
- Use ½ a stock cube when cooking instead of whole one, alternatively make your own low-salt stock (stock cube recipe)
- Have any sauces or dressings on the side of your plate rather than over your food and only eat the minimum required to give flavour
- Make more meals from scratch using fresh ingredients (see recipe pages)
- Low sodium alternatives to salt are available but they don't get you out of the habit of adding salt to your food
- Sea salt and rock salt have the same effect on the body as normal table and cooking salt
Click for ideas on adding flavour without salt