When we are dieting for health, one of the first things we need to take a look at is how much salt we have in our diet. Have you ever set next to someone that reaches for the salt shaker the minute the food is placed in front of him or her, and proceeds to add a lot of salt before they even taste the food? That is scary my friend. There is so much natural salt in foods that very little, if any needs to be added. If it is processed, comes frozen or from a can, you can bet the cost of breakfast that it has a load of salt or sodium already in it.
is that it helps retain water, it can interfere with our liver's ability to turn stored fat into needed energy and it increases levels of insulin in your body. All this keeps fat in our bodies instead of flushing it out or letting us burn it off as energy. As an extra little gift to us, salt is known to help raise our blood pressure. So first we pay for salt or purchase salty foods, then we get to pay for pills to reduce the high blood pressure we got from consuming the excess salt.
Most of us are addicted to salt in one way or another and will find it a little bit of a challenge to reduce our intake of the stuff. But is you really work at reducing your salt intake you will find that you will lose the pounds much faster and you will be healthier in the process. As you eat less and less salty foods, your taste buds will adjust and it won't be very long before you will notice the salt in the food the minute you take a bit of it. In fact, after only about a week you will notice a big difference and after two months, salty foods just won't appeal to you in the same way as they did in the past.
Salt has a dehydrating effect on the body, which can make you feel sluggish, with no energy to speak of. As you cut back on the salt in your diet you may just lose weight fast, and you will find that your metabolism will increase giving you more energy to meet the challenges of your weight loss program.
Besides the salt you get from the salt shaker, here are some other names to be on guard for:
Brine (salt and water) think of corned beef
Broth or bouillon
MSG (monosodium glutamate)
Seasoning salts (garlic salt, onion salt, celery salt etc)
Sodium compounds: including anything with the word "Sodium" in it, sodium phosphate, sodium benzoate, sodium sulfite, etc. There are about 70 of these and often you will find more that one listed in the ingredients of a container.
Now that you know , it is time to make every effort to cut back on your salt intake. The first place to start is to get rid of your salt shakers and don't add salt to the foods you eat. They will taste bland for a few days but before long you will begin to notice just how good each and every food item taste. Fresh fruits and vegetables will each have a taste all their own. You will find that chips are not the only way to enjoy a potato. Most importantly, you will see an enjoyable weight loss and you will start to feel healthier.
William Chaney is a Retired Chef and Wine Connoisseur. He writes about Wines of the world and foods of the world. Visit his blog http://DietingForHealth.org, where you can learn more about foods that are good for you as well as get food recipes. He is offering visitors a free ebook on How to Eat at Fast Food places without messing up a Diet. Grab your Free copy today.
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