Need to cut down on salt? Try a spices and herbs intervention

Source：American Heart Association Release Date：2014-03-28 272

Food & Beverage

Cutting back on salt is as plain and simple as using less of it, but most consumers don’t do it properly. A study shows that consumers who undergo simple intervention activities emerge more successful at reducing salt in their diet

CONSUMERS know some ways to reduce their use of salt. Aside from using less, they can use spices and herbs to enhance flavour. But knowing is one thing and applying is another. Consumers can reduce their salt intake more effectively with behavioural intervention rather than when they do it on their own, according to research conducted by the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California San Diego, US. It involved 55 volunteers – more than 60% had high blood pressure, 18% had diabetes and they were overweight.

Photo © Elena Moiseeva/123rf.com

In the first phase of a research they consumed a low-sodium diet for four weeks. Food and drinks were provided by the researchers. In the second phase, half of the volunteers took part in a 20-week behavioural intervention aimed at reducing their sodium intake to 1,500 mg/day by using spices and herbs. The other half reduced sodium on their own.

At the end of the study, researchers made the following conclusions:

-In the first phase, sodium intake decreased from an average 3,450 mg/day to an average 1,656 mg/day.

-In the second phase, sodium intake increased in both groups. But those who received the behavioural intervention consumed an average 966 mg/day of sodium less than the group that didn't receive the intervention.

“People in the intervention group learned problem-solving strategies, use of herbs and spices in recipes, how culture influences spice choices, how to monitor diet, overcoming the barriers to making dietary changes, how to choose and order foods when eating out and how to make low-sodium intake permanent," said Cheryl A. M. Anderson, Ph.D., M.P.H., lead author of the study and associate professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California San Diego.

Those assigned to the behavioural intervention group had cooking demonstrations and had a chance to share how they were changing traditional recipes to remove salt and to include spices. The researchers did not emphasise specific spices, and encouraged participants to try different things to find out what they liked most.

The study, funded by the McCormick Science Institute, was presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology & Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity & Metabolism Scientific Sessions 2014.

Обувь