Improve your overall health by cutting those salt cravings!

by FSP Health team, 13 March 2013

If pretzels, pizza and salty peanuts are your favourite snacks, you could have a salt addiction. This relatively ‘new' addiction is making headlines at the moment, especially as it's salt awareness week, and taking in too much salt leads to all sorts of health problems. Luckily, it's easy to cut the salt cravings! Here's what you need to do…

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, most adults consume two or even three times the recommended amount of salt without realising it.

That’s the reason so many adults have high blood pressure: They take in too much salt, says Hive Health and Media.

It’s also a cause of vision problems and leg cramps, as so many people simply don’t realise how much salt they’re taking in each day.

Are you taking in too much salt?

See, adults should consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium a day – that’s just a teaspoon of salt. But that’s not the limit of salt for each meal; you should stick to a teaspoon of salt over the entire day.

And while you might be good at sticking to just a teaspoon of salt you sprinkle on your food, what about salt from other sources?

Lots of packaged food products have added salt that we don’t factor in, says The Vancouver Sun.

So if you eat lots of takeaways and packaged salty snacks, you’re probably exceeding your daily salt limit and putting yourself at risk of a number of health problems without even realising it.

But all’s not lost.

You can cut your salt addiction in 21 days, says FSP Health.

That’s because it takes three weeks to form a habit.

And that’s also how long it takes to retrain your taste buds, as salt is actually an acquired taste.

Pay attention to your cravings for salty food…

If you find you still have cravings for salty food, don’t automatically reach for the junk food.

Because a food craving could mean you’re running low on certain minerals, like magnesium, so keep a list of everything you’re craving and discuss it with your doctor, says FSP Health.

You’ll also be less likely to give in to your salt cravings if you leave your food in the kitchen until it's time to eat and don't leave salty temptations lying around in your desk drawer – steer clear of the office vending machine!

Follow these tips and you’ll soon find you’ve drastically cut your salt intake.

Tags: salt, salt cravings, salt addiction, cravings for salty food, salt intake

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