IN SEARCH OF A SALT FREE WORLD

In Search of a Salt Free World

I feel like an explorer when I am in the marketplace. Sodium lurks in every aisle and around every corner. Gone are the days when you could just walk into a market, wander up and down the aisles picking up whatever you desire. Well, it is gone once you choose to be healthy. I have heard that health is wealth and I truly believe that. Without our health we have nothing. Sure money can buy you quality healthcare and all the best doctors, but they can only do so much.

Bad foods equal bad health. Your bones become brittle, your muscles weak, your teeth decay, your eyesight becomes dimmer, you have digestion problems, heartburn, your skin become dry and dull, and your hair and nails become brittle. This can and often is a sign of what we refer to as “old age” but many older people who have taken great care of their bodies look great. Even more importantly they feel great.

Sodium, commonly called salt, is essential to our bodies. We need salt to live. Our sweat is salty, our tears are salty and even our blood consists of some sodium content. The problem is a little goes a long way. Less is more. Years ago when salt became an additive it was a wonderful thing. Our ancestors did not consume nor did that have as many food choices as we have today. Vegetables were harvested from the garden, bread was baked in the kitchen, and butter was churned. In most cultures, especially in America, this is a life that does not exist except in the history books. Why go through all that trouble when you can just pluck these items and more off supermarket shelves.

So salt is not evil, it is the excess of salt that does our bodies harm and raises our blood pressure to abnormal levels. There really is no need for salt shakers…they are obsolete. The salt is already there, waiting. Everything from soda (pop), to cereal contains sodium and much of it is disproportionate to our daily needs. This is multiplied if your idea of cooking dinner is boxed pasta or those helper meals, salty snacks, and fast food. As a nation we are addicted to sugary, salty, and processed foods, an unhealthy and often deadly combination.

So as I continue my exploration for excessive amounts of added salt, I do adhere to the guidelines of daily salt requirements recommended for a healthy balanced diet. According to The Salt Institute the healthy range of salt intake is between 1,150- 5,750 mg/day which is termed the “hygienic safety range” of sodium intake by renowned Swedish hypertension expert Dr. Bjorn Folkow This varies per individual so consult your doctor before cutting salt too much. If like me, you have hypertension, stick closer to the lower part of the scale.

Remember…while we need to be conscious of our salt consumption, if we really did have a SALT FREE WORLD…we would all die.

To read more about the health benefits of salt and the recommended requirements http://www.saltinstitute.org/Issues-in-focus/Food-salt-health/Human-salt-requirements and http://www.saltinstitute.org/Uses-benefits/Salt-in-Food/Essential-nutrient

© Amira Richardson 2012

Funny how I wrote this blog today and then a 11 Alive news was talking about salt intake. Kodos for Boston Market for cutting back on some of the salt that they add to their food!

Tea Is Definitely Not Like Coffee

Every morning I used to look forward to my morning cup of coffee…lots of sugar and even more powdered creamer. It couldn’t get any better. All that rich smooth, sweet mocha taste. What a great way to start a morning. I have even indulged in drinking it at night. If I went to bed as soon as I finished it I would be good and relaxed and slept like a baby. It was all about timing…if I stayed awake afterwards too long, it woke me up when the caffeine kicked in and I would not be able to sleep.

Back to the topic…I decided all that sugar and creamer and yes the caffeine was not good for me…so I gave up coffee and switched to herbal tea. Now if you have ever stood in front of the tea selection and tried to figure out what tea to buy, you know it’s a challenge. There are way too many. I decided it was best, since there are herb based herbal teas and fruit based herbal teas, to start out by illuminating all the herb based ones and to choose a fruit I love, oh did I mention I really don’t like fruit except bananas and I did not see banana tea which sounds gross anyway. Back to selecting…I do occasionally like strawberries, mangos, and blue berries…and rather than have to choose between them I grabbed the VARIETY PACK SAMPLER. Tah Dah! Problem solved or so I thought anyway. Then I couldn’t decide what flavor to start with. Hmmm…now here is what usually happens…you choose your favourite thing and end up with what you aren’t sure if you like it stuff. Therefore the best thing to do is reverse it and choose something you are not sure of and then you are “saving the best for last!”  Ahhh Haaa that’s where that saying came from!

I can’t stand sugar in tea, which is why I chose the tea in the first place, so I added Splenda and sat down with my raspberry tea. I used to really hate raspberry by the way but have learned to tolerate and even halfway like it over the past couple years…but still it ended up being on the bottom of the heap, which is why it was first…smiles.

I took a sip and it was good, even half-way to great…but it wasn’t coffee. It wasn't exciting. I don’t look forward to my next cup. It doesn’t have that aroma that draws you in. Who ever walked past a tea shop and had to stop and detour to buy some…no it’s not the same. Pass a coffee shop and you feel the need to buy some right then and there. Tea is definitely not coffee and I am so temped to switch back but it takes 30 or 31 days to break a habit and its only been 2 weeks. So even though tea is definitely not coffee I will trudge on for at least 17 more days and while I am sipping my tea I will close my eyes and daydream about the aroma of coffee. 

The Nicest Man I Never Met

Michael was not yet officially part of my family...but he was family. I knew he was funny, compassionate, loving, and caring. He would have made a wonderful husband and anything else that was not to be. He had found his soulmate and she had found hers in him. I cried for him, I cried for her, I cried for what was never to be. The glimmer of hope is that love can be tangible, you can touch it, hold it, nurture it. Even though he is not here his love lives on. That is what is important now...that and the memories. R.I.P Officer Michael.