Swap the salt take action to stop stroke
September 18, 2013
“Where is the seasoning?” “That is seasoned perfectly” “Did you season the dish?”
Whether from the lips of a famous chef, cravat wearing critic or with some form of exotic accent the chorus repeated nightly on our television screens and now in kitchens across the country is the same; it’s all about the seasoning. Never before have we been so obsessed with the pleasure of food and with it seasoning; otherwise known as adding salt and pepper to bring out food flavours.
But, did you know that much of the food we eat is already packed with salt or sodium? We get 75% of our salt intake from processed food. Then, to add a little more flavor, we add to that a little extra salt.
So what is all this indulgence doing to us?
Our taste for salt can raise our blood pressure, and in turn our risk of stroke; high blood is a leading risk factor for stroke. So how can we the savour the flavor without the salt? In the lead up to National Stroke Week I’ll cover some handy tips to keep an eye on how much salt you are eating.
It is well recognised that too much salt is definitely not a good thing. A little is okay - it helps maintain the correct volume of circulating blood and tissues in your body - problem is that most of us consume eight to nine times the amount of salt we need.
Our taste for salt can be directly linked to increased blood pressure, and in turn stroke; high blood pressure being the key risk factor for stroke. So how can we the savour the flavor without the salt? Well, we can swap it out. This National Stroke Week unite with us to swap the salt and help stop stroke.
What is stroke?
A stroke occurs when the supply of blood to the brain is suddenly disrupted. Blood is carried to the brain by blood vessels called arteries. Blood may stop moving through an artery because the artery is blocked by a clot or plaque, or because the artery breaks or bursts.
One in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime. Around 1000 Australians suffer a stroke a week - that is one stroke every 10 minutes, yet the majority of strokes can be prevented.
Stroke risk factors you can’t change:
• Age - as you get older your risk of stroke increases
• Gender - stroke is more common in men
• Family history of stroke
Risk factors you can change:
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Smoking
• Lack of exercise
• Poor diet
• Drinking too much alcohol
It is well recognised that too much salt is definitely not a good thing. A little is okay - the maximum salt intake recommended is around one teaspoon, whether you add it or it is already included in what you are eating - it helps maintain the correct volume of circulating blood and tissues in your body. The problem is that most of us consume eight to nine times the amount of salt we need.
Why pass on the salt?
A high salt diet can lead to high blood pressure, which is often referred to as a silent killer, and is a key risk factor of stroke (see details above). In fact, some experts say the amount of salt you eat (which includes the salt already in processed foods e.g. tomato paste) is the most significant factor in raising your blood pressure. A lot of people think that only older people need to watch their salt intake and blood pressure, but this isn’t true - a high salt intake can increase your blood pressure at any age and people of all ages are affected by stroke.
The tricky thing with blood pressure is that there may be no signs that it is high. The only way to know your blood pressure is to have it checked. Many of us are walking around with high blood pressure and don’t even know it. Add a little salt to it (knowingly or unknowingly) and you are dramatically increasing your stroke risk. If we all reduced our salt intake from 9 grams to 6 grams, it would prevent around 6000 deaths a year from stroke and heart disease.
How can we reduce salt in our diet?
Replace seasoning with seasonal
Think of the first juicy orange of the season, the snap of a bean straight from a plant or a flavoursome strawberry.
Gone are the days where produce was restricted by the season, we can now source and expect to source whatever our heart desires all year round. But with this convenience flavour suffers, often becoming a victim of snap freezing, travel and storage. So stick to seasonal produce and source from quality producers. The faster fruit and vegetables reach you from the farmer the better - your taste buds and your wallet will be grateful (have you seen the price of avocado out of season).
Embrace variety
Mix it up, team seasonal fruit and vegetables with wholegrains, lean meats, oily fish, reduced fat dairy, unsalted nuts, seeds and legumes. There is so much variety available. Chat to the butcher, the fishmonger, search on the internet and try something new.
Variety is really the spice of life, try something new bring together colours and textures to create a food adventure.
Spice things up
Bring out and heighten flavours with a little spice. Spices are an amazing and delicious knock-on from Australia’s growing multiculturalism; we now have more access to spices and flavours than ever before. Embrace it and spice things up - salt is so passe’
Whether dried or fresh embrace a little:
• Chili
• Pepper
• Basil
• Lemon grass
• Ginger
• Garlic (my fav)
• Lemon or lime juice and zest
• Onion
• Shallots
• Vinegar
• So many more
Why not mix these with some interesting nuts and grains to make a Dukkah, which can be added to salad, crust fish or chicken or even season potatoes.
Swap the salt
Let’s be realistic, time is at a premium and we don’t always have the opportunity to cook, but we do always have the opportunity to make informed decisions. Around 75% of the salt we eat is in processed foods, and it is not always from where you think.
We get a lot of our salt intake from things like breakfast cereals, bread, processed meats and cheeses. For example 94% of pizzas sold in Australia are overloaded with salt. Reducing your salt intake may be as easy as reading a label and swapping brands.
Low salt, reduced salt or no added salt - assaulting…
Low salt, reduced salt and no added salt labels are everywhere but what do they mean?
Make an informed choice for you and your family, check the food nutritional label and compare the amount of sodium per 100g e.g. tomato paste and pick the product with the least amount of sodium.
• Low salt- For products to have this claim should contain no more than 120mg of sodium per 100g
• Reduced salt products generally have around 25-30% less salt than the regular variety. For example salt reduced margarine compared with original version of the same brand
• No added salt- Just as the name says, a product with this claim should not contain any added salt
Be sure – always check the nutritional label to make the best choice for you and your family.
Not sure how you would go cutting back on salt? Rest assured that our taste buds will adjust. It usually takes a few weeks for them to get used to it, so start with gradual reductions and eventually you will be less accustomed to a reduced salt diet.
Dukkah; ducking the salt
Dukkah is an Egyptian side dish made up of nuts, seeds and spices. Ingredients can be varied to your taste, it is fast and easy to make. It is perfect with a low salt bread and good olive oil, adds texture to a salad, tastes great on roast potatoes and (my fave) provides an amazing coating for chicken, lamb or fish.
75g Almonds
75g Cashews
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
4 tablespoons sesame seeds
Peppercorns to taste
½ tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp smoked paprika
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Place the almonds and cashews on a non-stick baking the tray and bake for 10 mins. Allow to cool.
2. Heat a small non-stick frying pan, once the pan is hot add the cumin, coriander, sesame seeds and peppercorns and dry roast for 30seconds.
3. Place all the ingredients – not forgetting a little chilli and paprika - in a processor (or equivalent) and process to a coarse powder.
4. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Written by Peta James from the National Stroke Foundation
Whether from the lips of a famous chef, cravat wearing critic or with some form of exotic accent the chorus repeated nightly on our television screens and now in kitchens across the country is the same; it’s all about the seasoning. Never before have we been so obsessed with the pleasure of food and with it seasoning; otherwise known as adding salt and pepper to bring out food flavours.
But, did you know that much of the food we eat is already packed with salt or sodium? We get 75% of our salt intake from processed food. Then, to add a little more flavor, we add to that a little extra salt.
So what is all this indulgence doing to us?
Our taste for salt can raise our blood pressure, and in turn our risk of stroke; high blood is a leading risk factor for stroke. So how can we the savour the flavor without the salt? In the lead up to National Stroke Week I’ll cover some handy tips to keep an eye on how much salt you are eating.
It is well recognised that too much salt is definitely not a good thing. A little is okay - it helps maintain the correct volume of circulating blood and tissues in your body - problem is that most of us consume eight to nine times the amount of salt we need.
Our taste for salt can be directly linked to increased blood pressure, and in turn stroke; high blood pressure being the key risk factor for stroke. So how can we the savour the flavor without the salt? Well, we can swap it out. This National Stroke Week unite with us to swap the salt and help stop stroke.
What is stroke?
A stroke occurs when the supply of blood to the brain is suddenly disrupted. Blood is carried to the brain by blood vessels called arteries. Blood may stop moving through an artery because the artery is blocked by a clot or plaque, or because the artery breaks or bursts.
One in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime. Around 1000 Australians suffer a stroke a week - that is one stroke every 10 minutes, yet the majority of strokes can be prevented.
Stroke risk factors you can’t change:
• Age - as you get older your risk of stroke increases
• Gender - stroke is more common in men
• Family history of stroke
Risk factors you can change:
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Smoking
• Lack of exercise
• Poor diet
• Drinking too much alcohol
It is well recognised that too much salt is definitely not a good thing. A little is okay - the maximum salt intake recommended is around one teaspoon, whether you add it or it is already included in what you are eating - it helps maintain the correct volume of circulating blood and tissues in your body. The problem is that most of us consume eight to nine times the amount of salt we need.
Why pass on the salt?
A high salt diet can lead to high blood pressure, which is often referred to as a silent killer, and is a key risk factor of stroke (see details above). In fact, some experts say the amount of salt you eat (which includes the salt already in processed foods e.g. tomato paste) is the most significant factor in raising your blood pressure. A lot of people think that only older people need to watch their salt intake and blood pressure, but this isn’t true - a high salt intake can increase your blood pressure at any age and people of all ages are affected by stroke.
The tricky thing with blood pressure is that there may be no signs that it is high. The only way to know your blood pressure is to have it checked. Many of us are walking around with high blood pressure and don’t even know it. Add a little salt to it (knowingly or unknowingly) and you are dramatically increasing your stroke risk. If we all reduced our salt intake from 9 grams to 6 grams, it would prevent around 6000 deaths a year from stroke and heart disease.
How can we reduce salt in our diet?
Replace seasoning with seasonal
Think of the first juicy orange of the season, the snap of a bean straight from a plant or a flavoursome strawberry.
Gone are the days where produce was restricted by the season, we can now source and expect to source whatever our heart desires all year round. But with this convenience flavour suffers, often becoming a victim of snap freezing, travel and storage. So stick to seasonal produce and source from quality producers. The faster fruit and vegetables reach you from the farmer the better - your taste buds and your wallet will be grateful (have you seen the price of avocado out of season).
Embrace variety
Mix it up, team seasonal fruit and vegetables with wholegrains, lean meats, oily fish, reduced fat dairy, unsalted nuts, seeds and legumes. There is so much variety available. Chat to the butcher, the fishmonger, search on the internet and try something new.
Variety is really the spice of life, try something new bring together colours and textures to create a food adventure.
Spice things up
Bring out and heighten flavours with a little spice. Spices are an amazing and delicious knock-on from Australia’s growing multiculturalism; we now have more access to spices and flavours than ever before. Embrace it and spice things up - salt is so passe’
Whether dried or fresh embrace a little:
• Chili
• Pepper
• Basil
• Lemon grass
• Ginger
• Garlic (my fav)
• Lemon or lime juice and zest
• Onion
• Shallots
• Vinegar
• So many more
Why not mix these with some interesting nuts and grains to make a Dukkah, which can be added to salad, crust fish or chicken or even season potatoes.
Swap the salt
Let’s be realistic, time is at a premium and we don’t always have the opportunity to cook, but we do always have the opportunity to make informed decisions. Around 75% of the salt we eat is in processed foods, and it is not always from where you think.
We get a lot of our salt intake from things like breakfast cereals, bread, processed meats and cheeses. For example 94% of pizzas sold in Australia are overloaded with salt. Reducing your salt intake may be as easy as reading a label and swapping brands.
Low salt, reduced salt or no added salt - assaulting…
Low salt, reduced salt and no added salt labels are everywhere but what do they mean?
Make an informed choice for you and your family, check the food nutritional label and compare the amount of sodium per 100g e.g. tomato paste and pick the product with the least amount of sodium.
• Low salt- For products to have this claim should contain no more than 120mg of sodium per 100g
• Reduced salt products generally have around 25-30% less salt than the regular variety. For example salt reduced margarine compared with original version of the same brand
• No added salt- Just as the name says, a product with this claim should not contain any added salt
Be sure – always check the nutritional label to make the best choice for you and your family.
Not sure how you would go cutting back on salt? Rest assured that our taste buds will adjust. It usually takes a few weeks for them to get used to it, so start with gradual reductions and eventually you will be less accustomed to a reduced salt diet.
Dukkah; ducking the salt
Dukkah is an Egyptian side dish made up of nuts, seeds and spices. Ingredients can be varied to your taste, it is fast and easy to make. It is perfect with a low salt bread and good olive oil, adds texture to a salad, tastes great on roast potatoes and (my fave) provides an amazing coating for chicken, lamb or fish.
75g Almonds
75g Cashews
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
4 tablespoons sesame seeds
Peppercorns to taste
½ tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp smoked paprika
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Place the almonds and cashews on a non-stick baking the tray and bake for 10 mins. Allow to cool.
2. Heat a small non-stick frying pan, once the pan is hot add the cumin, coriander, sesame seeds and peppercorns and dry roast for 30seconds.
3. Place all the ingredients – not forgetting a little chilli and paprika - in a processor (or equivalent) and process to a coarse powder.
4. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Written by Peta James from the National Stroke Foundation