What foods don't taste salty, but are high in salt? In fact, every kitchen has them...

Everyone now advocates a low-salt diet

Very sensitive to the issue of "adding salt"

But less salt in cooking

It doesn't mean you eat less salt

In some foods that you don't think are salty

It is still secretly exceeding the standard

According to the reference standards in the "Ten Core Information on Salt Reduction for Chinese Residents":

Foods that contain more than 600 mg of sodium in 100 grams of solid food and more than 300 mg of sodium in 100 ml of liquid food are considered "high-sodium foods".

By this standard, many of your favorite foods don't stand up to scrutiny, such as:

Preserved fruits and dried fruits

For example, processed dried plums, bayberries, and preserved fruits taste sweet and sour, but these snacks are still pickled with salt during the processing process to improve the flavor and extend the shelf life.

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The sodium content of a bag of plums is almost enough to meet your daily salt intake limit.

The same goes for dried fruits, such as salty melon seeds, strange-tasting broad beans, cashews, almonds and other roasted nuts, which all require salt during processing.

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If you want to always have some snacks at home to satisfy your cravings, candied fruits and dried fruits are definitely not the best choice and can only be eaten occasionally.

Noodles

Common noodle products such as dried noodles, soda crackers, and salty bread also have a high salt content!

During the pasta processing, salt is often added to make the dough more chewy and taste better.

Every 100 grams of noodles contains about 2 grams of salt.

If you add salt and seasonings to the noodle soup, the bowl of noodles will become a complete "salt bomb".

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When you choose these pasta products, try to choose those with lower sodium content , which are relatively healthier.

Of course, this kind of pasta is good in every way except that it’s not very delicious.

Seasoning

Sauces like soy sauce and oyster sauce also contain a lot of salt. A spoonful of soy sauce contains about 2-3 grams of salt.

Some people are used to using less salt when cooking, but like to add soy sauce, thinking that this can reduce salt intake. In fact, there is not much difference between the two.

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In addition, many people think that light soy sauce contains less salt than dark soy sauce, so they often use light soy sauce, and even think that "light soy sauce itself is not salty, so it's okay to add a little more."

This is a misunderstanding. In fact, the difference between light soy sauce and dark soy sauce is more in color, and the difference in salt content is not as big as imagined.

The reason why people have the illusion that "light soy sauce is not salty" may be because they have chosen a type of light soy sauce with a lower sodium content , so the taste naturally feels lighter.

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" recommends that adults should not consume more than 5 grams of salt per day.

If you experience symptoms such as thirst, slow thinking, swollen limbs, and headache , it means you are consuming too much salt and you must improve it as soon as possible.

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You can consume appropriate amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables rich in potassium to help the body excrete excess sodium.

If you don’t know how much salt you consume in a day, just simply keep track of the “salt” account.

● It is best to prepare a spoon with a scale when cooking so that you can easily know how much salt you have added.

● Since the sodium content (mg) is usually listed on the ingredient list of packaged foods, the salt content (g) can be estimated by dividing the sodium content by 400.

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Of course, the less salt you eat, the better. Sodium is also an essential nutrient for the human body. It can help us regulate the body's water and osmotic pressure, maintain acid-base balance, and ensure the activity of neurons or muscles.

We should neither be too averse nor too indulgent in salt intake, and should stick to the principle of "enough is good enough".

Statement: This article is a medical-related educational popular science article. It does not involve specific treatment methods or medical behaviors and cannot replace hospital visits.

Experts who reviewed this article

References

[1] Hong Yang, Jiang Hua, Meng Choushuan, et al. Effects of high salt intake on human health[J]. Journal of Food Safety and Quality, 2021, 12(07): 2618-2623. DOI: 10.19812/j.cnki.jfsq11-5956/ts.2021.07.017.

[2] Eating too much salt will make you fat. Disease control experts: Many condiments have high salt content [J]. Food Safety Guide, 2017, (33): 6.

[3] Ten core messages for salt reduction for Chinese residents[J]. Internal Medicine, 2019, 14(04): 396.

[4] Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022): Balanced Diet Guidelines[J]. Bulletin of Disease Prevention and Control, 2024, 39(01):95.

Content Production

Editor: Zhang Fuyao

Map: Eastern Zhou Dynasty