Even a week without salt can work wonders in terms of health. After a certain age, a reduction or lack of salt in the diet is mandatory. One of the main health benefits of not eating salt is the normalization of pressure. What does it mean? Too much salt increases blood pressure, which becomes dangerous after a certain age. Therefore, try not to eat salt for two weeks - this is the first step to a healthy lifestyle. In addition to lowering blood pressure, there are other health benefits to a salt-free diet for weight loss. This article will cover this issue.
Of course, the salt contains sodium, which the body needs. Although there is no argument in favor of the fact that sodium is an essential nutrient necessary to maintain overall health, a person needs it very little for the body to function properly. High sodium intake leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and many other diseases. Therefore, a salt-free diet is much healthier than any other nutrition plan that contains this element. Since you can get a healthy amount of sodium from other food sources. The most important benefits of a salt-free diet are those presented below in the article.
Normal blood pressure
Reducing salt intake is necessary if you suffer from hypertension. Excess sodium and salt increase blood pressure, which contributes to the risk of stroke. Studies show that excessive salt intake increases kidney morbidity.
More Effective Weight Loss
Salt makes the body retain water, which increases weight and makes it difficult to get rid of extra pounds. A well-balanced, salt-free diet, combined with an effective exercise program, will help you lose weight faster.
Salt-Free Diet Tips
It can be very difficult to get rid of the habit of salting food, so it will take time to get used to the taste of the products without it. Here are some tips to make this transition easier.
Say no to canned foods
Removing all types of preservation is a prerequisite for any “good” diet, as these products are extremely harmful to health. They contain a lot of salt, sugar, preservatives and various dangerous chemicals that slowly poison the body from the inside, which is unacceptable for a salt-free diet.
Love spices
Many people in reviews of the salt-free diet say that the biggest problem with removing salt from the diet is that the food suddenly becomes tasteless. It can be fixed. Spices, this is what salt can be replaced in a salt-free diet to improve the taste of dishes. Experiment with different combinations to discover new tastes, and soon forget about your craving for salt.
Cook at home
Food in cafes and restaurants makes it impossible to switch to a salt-free diet, because it is impossible to control the preparation of products. Even if you specifically ask that salt is not used in cooking, it is impossible to be 100% sure that the cooks will fulfill the request properly.
Discover new tastes
Try something new when you want a salty meal. A new delightful pleasure will divert attention from the obsessive desire for something salty. This technique will also help train your body in order to learn how to eat, and enjoy eating without salt.
Japanese diet
In Asia, it is unusual to meet an overweight woman. What is the secret of Asian women? In an interesting microclimate? Or, again, heredity? Maybe it is Asian cuisine? In any case, you can simply use the Japanese salt-free diet for 14 days. This nutrition plan is extremely effective - it not only allows you to get rid of extra pounds, it helps to maintain a meal regimen for up to three years. Fundamentally refuse in the Japanese nutrition plan for desserts, flour, fatty and salty. Reviews about the salt-free diet promise a good result on the scales. If you continue to follow this plan, lost kilos will not return. Japanese salt-free diet requires strict adherence to each position of its charter.
1 day: Breakfast - dark espresso or tea. Lunch - 2 eggs, romaine salad with olive oil, one fresh tomato. Dinner - fried, steamed or boiled fish, romaine salad with olive oil.
Day 2: Breakfast - dark espresso, one toast. Lunch - fried, steamed or boiled fish, salad with olive oil. Dinner - 200 g of baked beef, low-fat plain yogurt (without sugar and fruit additives).
Day 3: Breakfast - dark espresso. Lunch - one hard boiled egg, 3 large fresh or boiled carrots with olive oil and lemon juice. Dinner - apples.
Day 4: Breakfast - dark espresso. Lunch - parsnip or fennel (can be replaced with zucchini or eggplant), baked in olive oil, apples. Dinner - 2 eggs, a meat steak made from 250 grams of beef, a salad containing mixed greens with olive oil.
Day 5: Breakfast - carrots (fresh, 1 piece), "dressed" in lemon juice. Lunch - a large fried, steamed or boiled fish, 2 cups of unsalted tomatoes (or tomato juice without salt). Dinner - fried, steamed or boiled fish, romaine salad with olive oil.
Day 6: Breakfast - dark espresso. Lunch - steamed or fried chicken breast, salad containing mixed greens with olive oil or a couple of carrots. Dinner - 2 eggs, carrots with olive oil and lemon juice.
Day 7: Breakfast - green or black tea. Lunch - cooked meat steak (preferably from beef), any vegetables. Dinner - select the dish of any day, except for the third. The menu of the second week completely repeats the menu of the first.
Salt-free diet
Nutritionists believe that the more correctly selected diet without salt, the more noticeable will be its effect. The best salt-free diet for weight loss was invented in Japan. She promises a loss of up to 8 kilograms. The correct menu of the Japanese diet without salt, designed for 14 days, will allow you to get rid of excess weight and facilitate the course of some chronic diseases.
The most basic principle of the diet is the complete lack of salt in food. In addition, the salt-free diet completely removes sugar, alcohol, starch, fatty meat, fried and smoked foods from the diet. This means that for 14 days all purchased ready meals are excluded from the diet (with the exception of one rye cracker, sometimes allowed for breakfast), because they contain salt.
The 14-day diet-free diet for health and weight loss mainly includes vegetables and fruits, lean meats and fish. A weight loss plan has several options. A simplified version of the salt-free diet menu for those who do not like to cook looks like this:
In the first 3 days you can only eat chicken breast (steamed or boiled) - 500 grams.
The second three-day period should be devoted to boiled fish, also 500 grams per day.
During the third three-day period, you can eat porridge cooked in water (with the addition of a small amount of milk in a cooked dish), you need to cook porridge from 250 grams of cereals.
The fourth three-day period is vegetables (without potatoes) in any form, 1-2 kg per day.
During the last two days of the diet, you can eat fruits (except bananas and grapes) 1-2 kg.
All these days, breakfast looks like this: espresso or Americano (without the addition of cream and sugar) with a small rye cracker. During the day you need to drink clean water (preferably 1.5-2 liters). This salt-free diet is tolerated for 14 days quite easily.
How to replace salt?
A diet without salt is not easily tolerated by everyone, because some after 1-2 days can not continue it. To facilitate the diet, salt substitutes can be found. Those that improve the taste of food. How to replace salt on a salt-free diet? The finished dish can be “salted”:
- dried kelp;
- aromatic herbs - dill, saffron, rosemary, thyme, basil;
- spices - turmeric, ginger, pepper;
- lemon juice.
Why is a salt-free diet safe?
Salt is a nutrient needed by the body. Therefore, it is believed that you can not abandon it for a long time. The body needs salt (or rather, the sodium that it contains) in order to function normally. Most people do not have to worry about the lack of sodium, a mineral present in salt. But if you have high blood pressure or heart problems, or want to lose weight, it is recommended to reduce the amount of salt, or even abandon it completely. In these cases, you need to know what foods on a salt-free diet can help achieve your goal and replenish sodium in the body.
Fruits
Fruits are a nutritional supplement to any diet because they provide essential nutrients such as fiber and vitamin A, which are essential for good health. Most fresh fruits also do not contain salt, making them a healthy choice if you are trying to reduce your salt intake. For example, 1 cup of canned peaches or pears contains 4 milligrams of sodium. And this is 0.002 teaspoon of salt. A serving of fresh apricots, watermelon or raspberries contains 3 milligrams of sodium, and a serving of most fruit juices, mangoes, tangerines, strawberries, pineapple or bananas offers only 2 milligrams of sodium. Blueberries, blackberries, apples, prunes, dates, oranges, nectarines, grapefruit and cherries also do not contain salt.
Vegetables
Like fruits, vegetables rich in fiber and potassium do not contain salt. The exception is canned vegetables, which may contain a large amount of added salt. If you eat canned vegetables, look for salt-free versions. A serving of chili pepper, cauliflower, yellow beans, green bell peppers or mushrooms contains 4 milligrams of sodium, and a serving of broccoli, cooked onions, lettuce, sweet pepper or corn contains 3 milligrams of sodium. Radishes, eggplant, asparagus, tomatoes and avocados also do not contain salt.
Some grains and legumes
Soaking and cooking dried beans is another salt-free option. Most cooked pasta in dried form does not contain salt, and in order to preserve them in this way, you do not need to add salt to the water during cooking. Lentils, rice, oat bran, wheat flour and plain popcorn are additional grains and legumes that do not contain salt.
Salt Free Products
Fresh herbs such as basil, dill, rosemary, parsley and oregano are salt-free, as well as some dried spices such as black pepper, garlic powder, caraway seeds, paprika, nutmeg, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Cooking oils such as olive oil, rapeseed, soy, peanuts and sunflower also do not contain salt. Vinegar, most alcoholic drinks and plain coffee and tea are also salt-free foods.
It seems that life on such a diet is boring and monotonous, but it is not. Here are some sample options that you can eat on a salt-free diet.
Breakfast
If you like porridge for breakfast, it is better to use whole grains. A 3/4 cup bran or oatmeal would be a healthy choice, but it may contain 220 mg of sodium, depending on the product. Cook oatmeal using skim milk and add cinnamon or almonds along with banana slices. If you want scrambled eggs or scrambled eggs for breakfast, cook them with basil, pepper, onion or garlic, rather than salt. If you like muffins, bake them yourself, striking out the salt and adding cinnamon, vanilla, poppy seeds or lemon peel. Make a mix of fruits like bananas and blackberries with plain, low fat yogurt.
Dinner
For lunch, avoid fast food and, when you eat in a cafe, ask to cook dishes without salt and ready-made sauces, gravy and salad dressings. Make your (homemade) sandwiches with chicken or any other meat cooked at home, not with sausage. Use pepper, mustard or balsamic vinegar as a dressing. Create a salt-free salad with green pepper, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and herbs topped with grilled chicken slices and homemade mustard and natural yogurt dressing. Homemade bean soup seasoned with pepper, basil and bay leaves, adds potassium and fiber to the diet.
Dinner
Halibut with baked sweet potato and spinach salad provides more than a third of the recommended 4,700 milligrams of potassium. The main thing is not to season your fish or potatoes with salt or use a salad dressing you bought. To prepare a salad with a low salt content, you can use spinach, any greens, black beans, chopped tomatoes, onions, red pepper, rice (preferably brown) and salsa.
Before deciding whether to follow a salt-free diet or not, it is necessary to consult a doctor. There are many studies on the benefits and dangers of salt, and the results of some of them contradict each other. So think for yourself if the results of a salt-free diet are worth the potential health risks.