Why We Crave Salty Foods

Salty foods are not really addictive; they don't have a particular effect on the brain. But people become habituated to the taste of a certain amount of salt on the taste buds, and they tend to object when given less salt.   It has been shown that by eating less salt over a six week period your taste buds will not crave salt in the same amount allowing other flavors to be enjoyed.

We have been taught since birth to put plenty of salt on our food, either when cooking or when eating. The reality is that all food has natural sodium. Salt from the earth. If it grows on earth there is some kind of salt naturally within it. With a national epidemic of health problems such as being over weight and enormous heart problems, people in general need to look at their sodium content.

The American Medical Association gives a guide line of 2,300 mg of sodium a day for a healthy individual who is not overweight or has any type of high blood pressure or heart problem.  A person needing to be on a low sodium life style is suggested to have less than 1,500 mg of salt per day. You may think this is easy to do but you will soon find out that depending on your life style this may be very difficult. It is also important to note that salt is essential to sustain life. This means that your daily intake should not go below 500mg per day to maintain good health.

The simplest example is to show how eating out at a restaurant can very simply blow your 1,500 mg of salt in one meal.  One of the most sought after foods today is Pizza. Looking at each component of a slice of pizza gives you a good perspective of salt. Pizza dough, Tomato sauce and cheese, make up the basic pizza. One slice of medium cheese pizza, (depending on the brand or restaurant) will have an average of 550mg to 1100mg of salt. Think about it, just one slice of pizza could be up to half  or more of your daily intake of salt.

Most fast food places are just loaded with salt in their food to the point that you could eat one burger and take in every bit of salt in one sitting. Look at the nutritional guide of the restaurant before ordering. However, there are a fair amount of these places that try to hide and say they don't have a guide even though the law states they must provide this information to you.

How do you get around this problem, it's simple, make your own meals and control your health by controlling the amount of sodium you consume on a daily basis.The best part is that it will cost you less than fast food or a restaurant and you can control not only the taste but most importantly, The Salt.