Wake Up Call. Go Low to No Salt and Your Body will Thank You.

I am a salt lover. Some people go for the sweets, I go for the salt. Since I am not much of a snacker, except a rare occasion of pretzels, chips or crackers, I hardly paid attention to the salt content of food. Not good. When I finally did start looking I was shocked, and I mean shocked! at how much sodium is in food. How could I have been so careless? Why did I consume all this tasty, salty food without a thought?

To cook without it has been a bit of a challenge. It will be a learning curve, one that I embrace. As they say, knowledge is power but it is like starting all over on the cooking front. These two are the lowest in salt for this week. The cauliflower mash is just that. Boiled cauliflower, drained and then whipped in my NinJa blender. One cup is 19 milligrams of salt. Boiling and draining the cauliflower is the way to go because it allows some of the natural sodium to leach in to the water and you can pour it off. The green beans are the best. No salt and have a great crisp flavor, helping satisfy the crunch desire we all love.

I've started keeping track of each item I eat, and how much salt is in it. Things I used to think were good snacks like a string cheese stick packs 200 mg, while 1/2 cup of cottage cheese is 420 mg and a fat-free glass of milk is 130 mg. It all adds up before you know it.

With 1500 mg being the suggested limit, you can see how it can get out of control before you know it.

The downside to eating too much salt is far reaching. Here are the top three but I share these two links for you to review for yourself. It's a must read.

1. High Blood Pressure
2. Fluid Retention
3. Dehydration

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/disadvantages-sodium-2948.html

http://www.mayoclinic.org/sodium/ART-20045479

Giving up all the foods you love is hard to do. I suggest you start as soon as you can, but don't be too hard on yourself. Do it at a pace you can handle. Maybe three days a week to start and then the next week, five days and ultimately build up to every day with the low-no salt lifestyle. I'll keep you posted as to what is working for me.