Devlin Brown at the watercooler: Go easy on the salt and discover new tastes

Question: My doctor told me to reduce my sodium intake. Is there any joy left in life when salt is removed?

A few weeks ago, in the wake of SA’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal win, a meme made the rounds advertising a new flavour of Lay’s crisps: French Tears — Extra Salty.

Had the post-loss saltiness been turned down a notch, thousands of French fans could well have got their money’s worth watching riveting World Cup rugby games in the two weeks that followed their team’s exit instead of spending their evenings booing and jeering anything with a SA flag. Their collective blood pressure was through the roof. 

It’s common knowledge by now that oversalting food is bad for you. However, it’s the sodium doing the damage and not the flavour itself. Most people consume more than twice as much as the recommended dose of sodium every day, and most of the time they have no clue they’re doing it.

Salt is made up of sodium and chloride. Used to flavour food, it is also a binder, stabiliser and preservative because bacteria can’t do their job in a salty environment. As you’d expect, salt doesn’t just harm us — our bodies need a measured amount of sodium for nerve impulses to function properly. Sodium plays a role in the contraction and relaxation of muscles and in proper doses maintains a balance of water and minerals in the body. How much is needed to conduct these vital functions in our bodies? About 500mg.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends less than 2,000mg a day for adults — equivalent to less than a teaspoon of table salt. According to WHO, the global mean intake is 4,310mg.

Short-term symptoms of too much salt intake include being bloated, feeling excessively thirsty, regular trips to the bathroom, an upset stomach, rapid weight gain in a day or two, restless sleep and feeling weak. Long-term overdosing can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and calcium losses, which comes from our bones.

It’s wise to listen to your doctor. I once wrote on these pages that I was shocked to receive a hypertension diagnosis after a trip to the doctor. At the time, I was feeling bloated every day, was sleeping terribly, and had developed an obsession — some would call it an addiction — for building a smorgasbord of self-pity, feta, Parmesan, salami, chourico and every sausage I could find at Seemann’s Deli in Strydom Park.

In other words, stress and anxiety aside, I was binging on sodium because the glorious salty flavour made my year in hell taste better.

Sometimes knowledge is a bad thing, because I managed to avoid much weight gain by doing full-body weight-training sessions and cutting out the carbs when I upped the protein and fat. Talk about giving a car a new paint job but forgetting to check the oil.

And if I could stick my head in the sand with a fairly advanced health and wellness general knowledge, just imagine how many people are overdosing on sodium without even knowing it. Pizza, cheese, shellfish, canned tuna (gym food), red meat, processed and cold meats, cured food, smoked meats, every sausage at the delicatessen — you’re quite right, it’s almost everything worth tasting!

However, there is hope. Save the cold meats for special occasions, and consider cheeses that are lower in sodium, such as ricotta and mozzarella. Shop around the perimeter of the grocery store — fresh food really does taste better than anything processed.

Seasoning with any type of salt, including Himalayan salt, needs to be done with care. Technically, Himalayan salt has less sodium and tastes more salty but you can still overdo it — so become mindful when you twist the shaker.

Fresh herbs, lemon, paprika, garlic — the world’s your oyster ... which itself contains about 211mg of sodium when eaten fresh. The point is, be aware of food and its contents and be creative with how you season and spice your meals. You can make things taste amazingly exotic without touching the salt shaker. And it starts with a hint of garlic and fresh lemon.