Use herbs to lower your sodium intake

I’m a major salt fiend. While I’m pretty good at keeping myself from putting extra salt on food, I can’t contain myself if I’m within 50 feet of a bag of Doritos. And tomato juice? Don’t even get me started. Sure, I’ll get a chocolate craving every so often, but usually it’s more along the lines of, “OMG I need an onion bagel with cream cheese and lox, right now.“

But just because I’m not shoving sugar down my throat all the time doesn’t mean my salty ways aren’t bad for my health. This article from about.com really sums it up — basically a high-sodium diet leads to high blood pressure, which can cause all kinds of problems, not the least of which are higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

Now we all know that eating less packaged food and fast food and eating more fresh, home-cooked meals can help lower sodium intake, but the folks over at Eat Know How have posted a great guide to limiting the sodium levels in your own cooking: basically, cook with delicious, spicy and savory herbs, spices, garlic and onions instead of salt — you’ll get all the flavor with much, much less salt.

What they don’t mention are the added health benefits of some of the spices. Garlic is an awesome antioxidant, curry can contribute to healthy aging, and it would take a much longer blog post than this one to go through the many health benefits of herbs.

My first step on the road to a low-sodium diet? Tackling that pile of dirty dishes.

Tags: curry, garlic, herbs, high blood pressure, salt, sodium