Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - Parrish Medical Center - (Page 41)

The quickest way to reduce your salt intake, starting this minute: ALT SEASONINGS With heart disease as the leading cause of death in the U.S., the Department of Health and Human Services launched the Million Hearts initiative in 2011, calling for the prevention of 1 million heart attacks during the next ﬁve years. It asked Americans to reduce their sodium intake by 20 percent as one of the benchmarks to success. Larson says there are three easy ways to cut down on your daily salt intake: 1. Don't add extra salt to foods. "There are a lot of wonderful salt-less seasonings out there now," Larson says. "I really like to recommend herbs, spices and ﬂavored GO TO PHOTOGRAPHY BY GETTY/GROVE PASHLEY TAKE THE SALTSHAKER OFF THE TABLE. vinegars." In addition to table salt, try to avoid soy sauce as well. (One tablespoon can contain as much as 1,000 mg of sodium.) 2. Cook at home as often as possible. "Restaurants typically load their foods with salt," she says. 3. Use fresh ingredients. "Eliminate packaged, processed and frozen food items," Larson says. Choose fresh vegetables over canned, make pasta sauces from scratch instead of buying jarred and nix the microwaveable meals. Learning how to cook may be the best thing you can do for your heart. Test Your Food Label Skills Turn to page 49 to hear from people who learned to read food labels during a Parrish Medical Center grocery store tour. On the tour, you'll identify the good- and the not so good-foods for you, and you'll come away with a plan to help you avoid the obstacles on your journey to good health. Are Fancy Salts Any Healthier? Be it Hawaiian black lava salt or Himalayan pink salt, it's still just salt, says Kim Larson, a registered dietitian and a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She warns people not to get caught up in the hype of fancy salt. "They still have the same effect on blood pressure," she says. "There's no nutritional advantage." Marketing gimmicks may lead you to believe that these "natural" salts contain additional minerals that your body will thank you for, but Larson says a gimmick is all it is. The other minerals are too scarce to give you any extra advantage. You may find an advantage, however, in how much you use. Because kosher and sea salts have larger granules, you're actually getting less sodium per teaspoon. Sea salt contains 1,570 mg of sodium per teaspoon compared with 2,300 mg of sodium per teaspoon of regular table salt. If you must use salt, choose a larger type and sprinkle it on only at the very end of cooking to maximize flavor. SPRI NG 2014 41

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - Parrish Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - Parrish Medical Center
Contents
Tasty Tips
Opening Thoughts
Community Calendar
What’s New?
What Are Your Wishes?
CT Scans Can Save Lives
Occupational Hazards
The New Rules of Play
Shopping for Two
Back to Basics
Burn, Baby, Burn
Angelina Jolie
Rock Your Health
Breaking Up with Salt
Disgusting! (or Not?)
Virtual Health
Food Label Literacy
Breathing New Life
Foundation Focus
Ask the Expert

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2014 - Parrish Medical Center