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New study shows adding herbs and spices can help Americans significantly cut sodium intake in their diets.
At the American Heart Association meeting in March 2014, results of a study aimed at teaching people about herbs and spices as a part of a behavioral program to reduce sodium in their diet revealed promising results that may help the millions of Americans encouraged to slash the salt in their daily menus.
In a 24-week study, researchers from University of California, San Diego and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore geared toward reducing sodium in the diet found that teaching participants to use herbs and spices to flavor their food was significantly more effective than having people try to cut back on their own.
55 people were divided into one of two arms of the study after having completed an initial low sodium diet they were provided for 4-weeks. Half went onto a 20-week program to teach them how to reduce their sodium at home to 1,500 mg per day by using herbs and spices they liked while the others were encouraged to reduce sodium on their own (common to the typical advice given by health professionals with patients).
Researchers found that those who were given advice, instructions and strategies to increase herbs and spices in their diet for flavor consumed 966 mg less sodium (a little less than 1/2 teaspoon) per day than those reducing on their own over the 20 weeks. In other research, by reducing the diet by only 1/2 teaspoon (1,000 mg) of sodium per day, scientists have concluded that up to an estimated 35,000 heart attacks, 23,000 strokes and 32,000 lives could be avoided annually.
Given that sodium consumption is so high in the American diet and nearly 80% of the sodium consumed comes from processed foods and restaurant meals, helping individuals find ways to make low sodium or no salt added foods taste more appealing by using herbs and spices may be a good approach to making a low sodium diet sustainable over time.
Here are 5 salt swap tips to get you started:
1. Shake garlic powder. Swap the bottle you usually shake and grab the garlic powder instead. Stir into mashed potatoes, add to pasta sauces, or mix into bean dips and marinades for fish or chicken.
2. In salad dressings, instead of salt, get the punch of flavor from a little lemon juice or balsamic vinegar (white balsamic vinegar is fun, too). Add some Italian Seasoning blend or a mix of oregano, black pepper, and a hint of cayenne to spice things up.
3. Leave the salt out of the pasta sauce altogether (or purchase salt free jarred sauce and limit the salt you add to 1/4 teaspoon per 2 cups) and add garlic powder, black pepper, oregano and thyme. Easy, flavorful and delicious.
4. Skip the salt on your veggies. Saut©, grill or roast them in a mix of olive oil and salt free seasonings either homemade mixtures or one of a variety of salt-free blends in the market. Choose rosemary for green beans or potatoes, ginger for carrots, thyme for mushrooms and root vegetables like turnips. Dried oregano, fresh basil and extra virgin olive oil with a splash of balsamic vinegar is a divine dressing on ripe tomatoes or a sliced cucumber salad.
5. Instead of salt in your morning eggs, use thyme and black pepper. It’s delicious and we all need a little more ‘thyme’ in the morning, right?
References:
1. Anderson et al. American Heart Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, March 19, 2014
2. Bibbins-Domingo et al. NEJM, 2010: 362(7).
Wendy Bazilian (www.wendybazilian.com) is a doctor of public health, registered dietitian and freelance writer in San Diego. She is an advisor to the spa industry and co-owns Bazilian’s Health Clinic with her husband and business partner, Dr. Jason Bazilian. Dr. Wendy is author of The SuperFoodsRx Diet (Rodale). Wendy has been an expert consultant to McCormick, Inc. for many years and knows her way around the science (and use!) of herbs and spices.
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Follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bazilians.
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