TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Intake salt needed by the body, especially muscles and nerves in order to function normally. However, the amount should not be excessive. Only five grams or one teaspoon per day. Limiting salt consumption is important so that you don’t get hit hypertension, stroke and other dangerous health conditions.
Therefore, controlling the daily intake is the main point here. Park Sungjin, the leader of the K-pop band DAY6 for example, controls his salt intake by not consuming soup with a high salt content.
Sungjin, who is still recovering physically through a broadcast on the V Live page, recently admitted that he realized that excessive salt intake was not good for his health. Not only that, controlling salt intake, according to him, also helps to lose weight.
On the other hand, there are actually other ways to reduce salt intake naturally, one of which is to monitor or even write down the food you eat, the amount and the level of sodium or salt. Dietitian at North Dakota State University, Julie Garden-Robinson recommends apps that can help you such as MyFitnessPal, Shopwell and Calorie Counter & Food Diary.
Then, if you don’t know the nutrition facts of your food, you can avoid excessive sodium by following the acronym SCIP (smoked, cured, instant, and processed), which is to stay away from smoked, preserved, instant and processed foods.
Foods that are processed using the SCIP method usually contain more salt. One cup of smoked salmon, for example, contains 1066 mg of sodium, while raw salmon has 117 milligrams of sodium. “We may think that foods contain salt at the table. However, processed foods make up the largest part of the sodium we consume,” Robinson said as quoted by Insider, Wednesday, September 23, 2020.
A healthy alternative that can help you lower your sodium intake is to prepare your own meals using fresh, no-salt, or low-sodium ingredients. This gives you the most control over how much sodium is in your diet.
In cooking, you can prepare meat or beans using spices such as cumin and chilies which can give you a lot of flavor without having to exceed the daily salt intake limit. Add a little peppers and lightly sauteed onions or other ingredients for a fresh taste.
Try reducing the grated cheese, because usually the sodium content is more. Meanwhile, Nutrifood Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant, Moch. Aldis Ruslialdi suggests reducing the intake of sauces, soy sauce or chili sauce at meals. “It can reduce the consumption of processed products, add spices (in cooking), garlic (for several types of dishes), mushrooms, eat fresh foods such as fruit and vegetables or choose low-salt products,” he said.
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