‘Unsalting’ your diet
Most Malaysians tend to eat too much salt on average, which is not good for our heart and blood pressure.
ALMOST everyone around the world adds salt to their food to make it tastier and more appetising.
Salt is also a vital source of sodium – an essential mineral for humans.
Unfortunately, most of us tend to consume more salt than the recommended amount.
This amount suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) is less than a teaspoon, or 5g, of salt daily for adults.
The Malaysian Community Salt Survey, conducted in 2019, found that four in five Malaysian adults consumed more salt than recommended, with an average intake of 7.9g of salt daily.
This finding is alarming as overconsumption of salt can increase the risk of high blood pressure, which is an avoidable risk factor of heart diseases, stroke and other non-communicable diseases (NCDS).
Salt is everywhere!
Salt is a universal flavour enhancer used in many food products.
It is hard to avoid its ubiquitous presence in processed foods such as processed meats, salty extruded snacks (e.g. potato chips, crackers), salted fish, salted eggs, salted pickles, salted nuts, instant noodles, instant creamed soup and numerous others.
Plus, various sauces such as soya sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, chilli sauce, tomato ketchup and other condiments, are also high in salt and sodium.
In addition to salt, these sauces are often used when cooking at home, as well as in restaurants and hawker stalls.
There are ways to reduce our salt intake, such as limiting intake of high-salt processed foods, and reducing the use of salt in homecooking, including decreasing the use of foods with sauces high in sodium (e.g. eating chilli soaked in soy sauce with noodles).
However, putting all these measures into practice may be challenging if they are done suddenly and in full measure, as you will notice that it diminishes the palatability or tastiness of the dishes you eat.
Replacing salt
Fret not however, we can still enjoy rich and flavourful dishes while using less salt with these smart strategies:
>
Make good use of natural flavour enhancers and whole foods
Salt is not the only flavour enhancer available.
You can also create appetising dishes with a variety of herbs (e.g. basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, oregano) and spices (e.g. cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, star anise, turmeric, cumin, fennel seed).
Fruit juices or pastes from lemon, lime or tamarind are also great for cooking.
Apart from that, using ripe and rich natural produce also gives you more flavourful dishes without having to add too much salt.
Another method is by concentrating flavours via longer cooking time (e.g. when preparing soups, stews or sauces), which helps to yield intense flavour with less salt.
Use umami-rich ingredients
Apart from sweet, sour, salty and bitter, a fifth taste has also been identified.
Known as umami, it is also described as the meaty or savoury taste.
Enhancing the umami flavour in food can help to boost the taste of dishes without adding much salt.
You can use foods that are naturally rich in umami flavour, such as tomatoes, kelp, dried seaweed, anchovies, seafood, garlic, onions, Chinese cabbage, dried or fresh mushrooms, and many others.
These are perfect for making stews, sauces or stir-fry dishes.
Use umami seasonings
Another alternative is to use umami seasonings, such as monosodium glutamate (MSG).
It is a pure umami seasoning that helps to enrich the taste of umami in foods without sacrificing the overall flavour.
Many people often mistakenly think that MSG is high in sodium.
The fact is that MSG has three times lower sodium content (12%), compared to table salt (39%).
Umami seasoning can be a useful ingredient, especially for people on a low-sodium diet.
MSG can be used to replace a certain amount of salt to produce dishes with good taste, while reducing overall sodium intake.
For instance, instead of using one teaspoon of salt for a soup recipe, you can use half a teaspoon of MSG, along with half a teaspoon of salt or less, according to your taste.
This helps to maintain the palatability of food by stimulating both salty and umami receptors on the palate, resulting in a more complete and rounded overall taste, while at the same time, controlling and reducing salt intake.
Controlling our salt intake is important to prevent high blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart diseases and other NCDS.
We can do this by reducing foods that are high in salt and using less salt in our cooking.
With natural flavour enhancers and umami-rich ingredients, it is possible to use less salt when cooking, while retaining a rich and flavourful taste in our dishes.
Remember: less salt, better health!
Dr Roseline Yap Wai Kuan is a nutritionist and honorary treasurer of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia (NSM). This article is contributed by Nutrition Month Malaysia (NMM) 2021, an annual community nutrition education initiative jointly organised by NSM, the Malaysian Dietitians’ Association and the Malaysian Association for the Study of Obesity. The NMM 2021 Virtual Nutrition Fair is being held now until Sept 5 at virtualfair.nutritionmonthmalaysia.org.my. For more information, visit NMM’S pages on Facebook and Instagram.