BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...

Subject: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 10:39 AM

Have you noticed how much salt junk food is drenched in these days? I have, and that's one of the reasons I don't eat it. The popcorn at movies, for instance, has so much salt on it that it starts to burn your lips after a few minutes...and it makes you very thirsty...which causes you to want some sugary soft drinks also! That's a clever marketing plan on their part. ;-) The amount of salt on packaged snacks like potatoe chips or cheesies is simply insane. I can't fathom how anyone can stand eating them.

I have had to remember to ask the people at the Fish and Chips place not to salt my french fries...because if they do, they put way too much on...I salt the fries myself at my table...lightly.

Okay, so here's how it works. Salt does make food taste better. We all know that. But how MUCH salt? If people get used to putting a lot of salt on their food then they tend to put more and more of it on as time goes by, specially if they are encouraged to by commercially sold fast foods. It becomes a habit that is self-replicating and it gets out of hand...a behavioral addiction. And then, this is what happens:

Too much salt!

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 10:52 AM

Hmmm. Apparently the same problem is occurring in Europe, according to this article:

Overconsumption of salt in European diet causing health problems

Injesting salt causes higher blood pressure and retention of fluids in the body. High blood pressure can cause serious health problems, particularly heart disease, leading to premature death. If you tend toward high blood pressure, diabetes, fluid retention, and related problems, you should reduce your daily salt intake.

I salt food rather lightly, and avoid heavily salted foods. I have never had even the slightest tendency toward high blood pressure or fluid retention or gaining weight.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Peace
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 10:53 AM

So, uh, do you think three pounds a week is excessive?

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 10:57 AM

It's not just in junk food, LH. It's in everything! I can only have up to 1000 mg of salt per day. Start reading labels...soups are routinely 5-900 mgs in one small can; canned vegetables are right up there; spaghetti sauce; favourite cereals; you name it, it's got tons of salt in it. So..I have found one type of cereal which is low in salt; make a lot of my own soups, etc. As a vegetarian, I go to the health food store a lot and thought I'd find less salty stuff, but even organic frozen dinners, crackers, etc. "all natural" are mostly loaded with salt, esp. if there is any cheese involved. I really like using Boca Burger for sloppy joes and goulash, but it's got a lot of sodium, too.

Last night I saw a rerun of Miami Ink. An 80 yr old woman came in for her first tattoo. When they asked her what was her secret to longevity and zest for life, she said "Stay away from salt, sugar, and meat."

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: bobad
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 11:04 AM

A good rule of thumb is to avoid, as much as possible, any processed foods. Try to eat fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, fish etc. Eat whole grains and make your own breakfast cereal so that you control what you eat.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 11:05 AM

Of weight gained or of salt, Peace? (grin)

Seriously, man, I have some folkie friends here who like to get together at one guy's house once a week after playing music and they yack for awhile...nice time...

But what gets put out to eat? Those frikkin' godawful chips and cheesies that have enough salt in them to stop a charging rhino dead in its tracks. Un-be-fuckin'-LEEV-able. I don't know how people can eat that shit, but I guess they get used to it gradually over the years. I sure as hell won't eat it.

I see these people in the grocery line at the checkout...great big women with little kids in tow...and their grocery cart is loaded up with:

bags of chips
cheesies
frozen pizza
giant bottles of pop
bags of candies from the bulk food department
little squares of caramel wrapped in plastic
dried bacon bits
salted roasted nuts
canned pork and beans

Not a piece of a fresh fruit or vegetable to be seen.
No water to drink.
Nothing unprocessed.
Nothing that isn't full of either salt or sugar.

And I wonder what those kids will look like 20 or 30 years from now?

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Goose Gander
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 11:06 AM

A few years back I began cooking most of my own food. I use salt in moderation, and when I do eat at restuarants these days often the food seems ridicuously over-salted.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 11:21 AM

Yes, it's a question of what you're accustomed to, Michael. For instance, my family made the switch from salted butter to unsalted butter many years back. At first the unsalted butter seemed bland, almost tasteless. After a short time it was the other way around...the salted butter tasted horribly over-salted and the unsalted butter tasted great!

It's all a matter of perception, but the less salt you have in food (up to a point) the more you can taste the actual flavor of the food itself, and that turns out to be a good thing in not too short a time.

Plus, it's good for your health.

One thing I like a fair bit of salt on for some reason is steak...which I eat on fairly rare occasions.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: bobad
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 11:23 AM

An article illustrating how difficult it is to control sodium intake while eating processed foods

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 11:27 AM

And here's another article:

Canadians eating too much salt

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Desdemona
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 11:52 AM

This is a timely thread; we've recently started being a lot more aware of the sodium content in everyday food, and it really is pretty shocking. My partner and I are vegetarians, and I'm essentially a vegan, so we mostly cook at home and don't use a lot of salt. BUT as soon as you take a look at even the most ordinary (ie, not necessarily or obviously "junk" like chips, etc.) packaged foodstuffs it becomes apparent that you have to be really careful, especially if your health requires you to limit your salt intake...it's in EVERYTHING, as is corn syrup: which is just madness, but extremely lucrative madness for certain unscrupulous people.

My theory is that although people in the western world are generally terribly overfed, we've developed a culture where a lot of that feeding is done in the form of fast food, take-out, and processed convenience items that can be prepared with a minimum of time or effort and eaten in front of the TV...people's taste buds get beaten into submission by the high sodium content in these products, and pretty soon "taste" means either "salty" or "sweet." More subtle flavors just can't stand up to the wallop of 950mg of sodium...lemon grass, what lemon grass?

I do realize that I just made a whole heap of sweeping generalizations in that last sentence, but I think the point is a valid one, especially when it comes to the foods that kids tend to clamor for (with the encouragement of the afore-mentioned TV). One wonders where it will all end...I saw an ad for a sectional sofa that had a built-in cooler between two of the seats; if they could just include a microwave oven and a catheter in the design, we'd never have to get up at all!

~D

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: number 6
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 12:08 PM

You`ll never find a salt shaker, or dish of salt on our table.

As to `junk food` ... well it`s junk. Why would you eat it.

Fish and chips ... I`m suprised you even eat that stuff L.H. ... all that deep fried fat ... why bother to ask them to hold the salt`

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: John Hardly
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 12:14 PM

I'll take this advice with a gr... never mind.

Heck, we're all just essentially sea animals with legs. We miss the salt in which we used to be immersed. Can't blame us.

Saline, saline, over the bountiful meal,
For many a bland hotdish be saved ere Jack comes home again.
Saline, saline, over the bounding main,
For many a bland hotdish be saved ere Jack comes home again.

The salt-user's life is bold and free;
He wants to taste his food, let 'im be!
And never heart more true or brave,
Hypotension's not worth the save.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 12:28 PM

Bill, I eat fish and chips on pretty rare occasions....maybe 4 times a year. I'll survive. ;-) There's such a thing as being too perfect, you know! The food I like best around here is the Japanese food at a couple of local restaurants. It's cooked in water, not oil, and it's very fresh, with a good mix of rice and vegetables and small amounts of fish, chicken, or shrimp.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: number 6
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 12:35 PM

Don't worry L.H .... on very, very rare occasions I'll go for a bag of Hickory sticks :)

Ya gotta live dangerously once and while.

But I agree, many people do consume way too much salt .... there is enough of it in our food (i.e. bread, crackers, bottled sauces) to sustain our required intake. No need to pour it on top of our meals.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 12:44 PM

Desdemona said: "people's taste buds get beaten into submission by the high sodium content in these products, and pretty soon "taste" means either "salty" or "sweet." More subtle flavors just can't stand up (to that)"

Yeah, that's exactly what has happened to most people's sense of "taste" when it comes to food, and it has been achieved by the modern food marketing industry. I'll add one more "taste" to your list, by the way...

...pretty soon "taste" means either "salty" or "sweet" or "hot" (as in fiery hot chicken wings, salsa, chips, etc...)

At the local restaurants the "hot" food junkies can get their fix in several stages: mild hot, medium hot, extra hot, blazing hot, and "suicide!" wings for the real aficionado.

It's a form of machismo, I guess. ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Desdemona
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 12:54 PM

Oh, it's **definitely** machismo (to say nothing of masochismo)! I was in New Orleans for a conference last week, where they have entire shops devoted to many, many, many varieties of hot sauce, it's pretty diverting just to browse the labels. Some are funny (I particularly loved the Joan of Arc brand), but many are quite literally pornographic, with cartoons of guys with gigantic erections, etc...apparently a high tolerance for habaneros is to the insecure poor man what a Ferrari is to his more well-heeled analogue!

~D

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: jeffp
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 01:04 PM

.... on very, very rare occasions I'll go for a bag of Hickory sticks

You chew on twigs? Not much sodium there, I guess. :)

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: John Hardly
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 01:08 PM

ma-cheese-mo

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 01:11 PM

Yeah, I knew a guy out west who specially prided himself on his ability to chew up the hottest peppers with gusto, and he was VERY macho. Yessiree. He was constantly daring all the other men to eat those peppers.

There may indeed be something to it on an energetic level...as I've noticed that men with the most fiery personalities often like eating hot spiced food. Hot foods are also said to be helpful in combating cold weather, and I think there might be something to that.

The Eastern books I've read about diet have an interesting comment about that. They talk about Yin and Yang energies in food. Yin tends to be cool, tranquil, and calm...it is associated with sweet or mild foods and with flowing water...and the female forces. Yang tends to be hot, aggressive, and active...it is associated with salty or spicy foods and with fire...and the male forces. Yin is also alkaline, while Yang is acidic.

An excess of either Yin or Yang in one's life leads to health problems. So does an insufficient amount of either. Extremes are always harmful. An individual is healthiest (and wisest) when balancing Yin and Yang in equal measure.

Our modern food industry bounces people back and forth between massive infusions of Yin (refined sugar in food and alcohol) and equally massive infusions of Yang (overuse of salt and hot spices).

When you overbalance on either Yin or Yang, one of two things can happen. You either become chronically addicted to the overbalance...or you get hit with cravings to overbalance in the opposite direction with a hit of the opposite type...and you get addicted to the energy swings that result.

I don't know whether the modern food industry knows that, but they're certainly acting like they do, and it helps them sell more of what they push, which is essentially a gigantic drug trade which bounces you back and forth between huge amounts of salt and sugar...both of which are quite harmful when taken to excess.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: number 6
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 01:54 PM

Jeffp ... it a Canadian 'crisp' ... lotsa salt, and artificial hickory smoke flavour. a true coup de grace in an unhealthy diet. Well not as bad a fish and chips or deep fried blood pudding.

Hot foods ... and then there is there Asian variety ... lotsa wonderfully blended spices and a true delicate art in preparing ... certainly not maschismo in my books.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Desdemona
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 01:56 PM

No, indeed, I just LOVES me that wasabi, and I am emphatically devoid of machismo!

~D

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 02:04 PM

We quit using any kind of salt except for small amounts of sea salt, many years ago. When I was in bed for five months waiting for surgery, it was difficult to eat anything,, most food was nauseating. I lived off of canned chicken noodle soup which Rog rinsed repeatedly to remove most of the salty broth and I drank a lot of cans of Ensure, each of which had 200 mg of sodium! That's what really gets me; the stuff they claim is "healthy" has just as much sodium as the real crap. Since the surgery we've been bale to get back to more of our foods from scratch, but there are times when I want fast food!:-<

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 02:32 PM

Wasabi is great...in small measure. All these things are good in the proper measure, and they are all harmful when you overdo them.

I once made the mistake of putting an entire spoonful of wasabi in my mouth! I'd never seen it before, and I thought it was custard. The resultant atomic hit of YANG!!! just about blew my head off. My sinuses felt like they had filled with liquid fire. You never make that mistake twice. ;-)

I thoroughly enjoy hot oriental food. Do not assume that I am arguing against all hot spicy food on principle. I am not. I am arguing against a modern marketing system that is teaching people to routinely eat processed foods that are laced with unhealthful amounts of refined sugar, salt, and hot spices...to the point that those people become incapable of appreciating ANY food that is NOT saturated with one of those three marketed "tastes": SALT/SUGAR/HOT PEPPER.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Desdemona
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 02:50 PM

My sister did something similar the first time she encountered wasabi in a Japanese restaurant. Based on its colour & texture, she assumed it was avocado...boy, she was wrong!!! My kids love to snack on those wasabi peas, much better than chips, and waaay more exciting.

I think it's good to mix things up; we cook lots of Indian at our house, but also Asian, Mediterranean, Mexican-ish, and generic hippie stuff like stir-fries and lentil soup...it's so much fun to experiment with spices and ingredients, just dumping salt on everything shows a woeful lack of imagination to my mind!

On a somewhat slightly related note, has anyone seen the film "King Corn" yet? It's just opening at our local independent cinema this week.

~D

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Rapparee
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 04:31 PM

Some of the taste for salt in North America could be from the used of brining and salting to preserve foods before our more modern methods became available.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Ron Davies
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 04:32 PM

Jan has said, since she arrived on our shore in 1999, that the US diet is "dis-guuuusting". And primarily for exactly the reasons cited here--sugar and salt. And you're right--down the line. She's up in arms that, for instance, it seems impossible to ever get "French fries" in the US that are not pre-salted. In all circumstances, it should be up to the customer to add salt--if desired.

Something possibly even worse--Jan has noticed, taking care of kids, that they get hooked on salt at an amazingly early age--even adding it themselves at age 6.

She's fighting an uphill battle against all this--especially since the parents often set a wretched example.

I put salt on my corn on the cob--but never on anything else. And we check the salt content on anything we buy--and try to buy accordingly. Usually--unless we're addicted to something--like I am to a certain spicy corn-pepper soup in a box, from Trader Joe's. (True confessions.)

And I have to say I part company with her on some other alleged US dietary sins--specifically sugar. She says for instance that our corn muffins are too sweet. Sorry, I like it that way--though I like them unsweetened also.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 04:51 PM

Here's an interesting thing, Ron. You know the young sweet corn that is available seasonally from local farmers in the late summer? I have discovered that it tastes better raw right off the cob than it does cooked...in my opinion. It has a wonderful fresh taste and juiciness when it's raw. You just peel off the leaves and chew it raw from the cob.

This doesn't work with the more mature corn that's been sitting in a store, however. That stuff tastes better when it's cooked, and it needs the heat for a little tenderizing effect.

I put no salt on it, just unsalted butter. Very good.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Rowan
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 05:02 PM

It must have been about 30 years ago that I discovered a report on an experiment that some researcher had done on salt intake. I forget where it had been done but it involved cafes that had the 'matched salt and pepper shakers' on all the tables. The number of times that customers shook their salt-shaker over their meal was recorded to start with and the observers calculated the quantities of salt delivered by such patterns of shaking. I vaguely recall that they found most people gave 5 shakes.

Then over the period of the experiment, the holes in the salt shakers were modified (more or less invisibly) so they delivered different quantities of salt. Again, I vaguely recall the difference between the shakers was such that the highest delivery was double the lowest. They found that, irrespective of the amount of salt delivered, people gave the same number of shakes. The conclusion was that the act of shaking the salt shaker was the trigger, not the effect on taste.

These days I minimise my sodium intake but ensure that whatever discretionary salt I ingest is iodised, as I live well away from the sea.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 05:06 PM

I've been using sea salt. It's more healthfull. I buy it at a health food store, and a bag of it lasts a very long time indeed.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 05:50 PM

There are two sides to every coin.

About 20 years ago the restriction of salt was a popular health mantra.

About 20 years ago physicians were encountering vast numbers of people who exhibited symptoms they called "Yuppie Flu." The same illness had the more formal name "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome."

The Yuppie Flu more or less disappeared when they finally figured out that it was caused mainly by insufficient salt in the fad diets of the period. (Excessive restriction of fats was found to be a contributing factor.)

I'll agree that the majority of fast foods, and many places that serve apparently more healthy menus, use excessive amounts of salt; but total elimination is also something to be avoided.

Moderation - knowingly done - works best.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: M.Ted
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 05:58 PM

I liked that "Saline, Saline" thing a lot, JH--


The idea that eating a lot of salt is bad may not be exactly right. And the idea that the large amount of salt in our diet is the result of marketing/advertising, or whatever, is certainly wrong.   

People eat a lot of salt because they crave salt--and, most people I know, including me, head for the chips and junk food when things get tense--which, in the USA, is most of the time(USA= U Stress Alot)--no coincidence that, as European life gets more like ours--chips become more and more common.

Also, I am reminded that salt craving is a sign of lead and other heavy metal poisoning, which is also a cause of high blood pressure. So there is some chance that the high amount of salt that we eat is a result of our health issues, rather than the cause of it.

Anyway, it seems clear that, whichever way the causality goes, we are being slowly poisoned by our lifestyles. Check this out for some other views on the ill effects of dietary salt--Common Misconceptions Associated With Salt

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 07:27 PM

Everybody needs salt in their diet, without question. I am simply saying that most commercially processed and prepared food has more salt in it than is appropriate...or more sugar than is appropriate...or too much of both. I have never tried to eliminate salt from my diet, and I enjoy using it as a regular addition to my food, to exactly that extent that my own taste buds indicate is correct...and that extent is way less than what I get in a serving of french fries at any fast food place around here.

I notice that many people become accustomed to using very heavy amounts of salt...perhaps they are addicted to it, but don't know it. I have to think that something is wrong for them to be craving it that strongly. Ditto for stuff that is full of sugar.

Like you say, everything in moderation.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 08:02 PM

My Thyroid specialist told me to take a pinch of iodised salt each day as my thyroid doesn't work properly. She suggested cooking salt as it is iodised, & table salt is not (unless so marked & therefore more expensive!)

Apart from that I don't normally add salt to food, because as others have said almost every product has salt added. I use tinned & frozen products regularly, & (guilty whisper) eat salty take-away stuff too, not as often as some folks, but more often than others.

I realised decades ago that I got enough salt in processed food to not need to add it, tho I hadn't known the salt in processed food was not a complete substitute for (proper) salt.

Apart from my prescribed pinch, I only ever add salt to occasional things like tomatoes (small sprinkle) or Japanese soy sauce.

If I use a salt or pepper shaker in a cafe/restaurant I always shake it once over my hand to see how much comes out, then drop the contents over the food, ever since I saw someone upend the salt shaker & watch the lid & contents fall onto his food!!

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Nov 07 - 08:16 PM

Hard as it is to believe, there are certain lowlife morons around who get their jollies by leaving restaurant salt shakers, pepper shakers, and sugar shakers with the top just barely screwed on...hanging on by a thread, as it were. They do this deliberately in hopes that the next persont to sit down there will dump the entire shakerfull into his food...and I've seen it happen too.

It's the sort of thing that Shane McBride would do on a slow day in order to "have some fun" at someone else's expense.

I also once had an entire shaker of salt empty itself into a fresh bowl of soup in that very fashion when I was in a Chinese restaurant. The top of the shaker fell in along with the salt, of course. The owner saw it happen, rushed over and apologized, and took the bowl of soup away and brought me a new one...as well as a new shaker of salt. ;-) I have no idea if I was the victim of a practical joke such as I have described above...or if it was just an accident.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 06 Nov 07 - 07:09 AM

Apart from my prescribed pinch, I only ever add salt to occasional things like tomatoes (small sprinkle) or Japanese soy sauce.
===========

I definitely don't add salt to soy sauce! I eat a lot of Sushi & add small amounts of soy to them, never as much as the retailer thinks I should (or why would they supply 1 portion per roll?)

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 Nov 07 - 09:50 AM

Soy sauce already has all the salt in it that anyone could need, and it is best used lightly, I find.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: katlaughing
Date: 06 Nov 07 - 10:52 AM

The local McDonalds here must be getting the picture. One can order unsalted fries any time and get them. THAT was a big surprise when I first heard about it.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 06 Nov 07 - 02:23 PM

All packaged foods in Canada have nutrition labels. For those who worry about diet, it is easy to spot low salt-low sugar products.
The idea that all mass-market supermarket packaged foods are high salt-high sugar is nonsense.

Tonight we are having a store-product dinner of sphagetti and meatballs with sauce.
Salt and sugar are low, so we can finish off with pecan molasses pie and snack on salted almonds. (We begin with a salad of greens, vegetables, tomatoes, with olive oil, feta cheese and salt).

Sauce- Classico tomato and basil
Values per 1/2 cup (125ml)
Calories    60
Fat, saturates 1% daily value
Sodium 320mg 13% daily recommended intake
Carbohydrates/Glucides 11g 4% daily...
Proteins   2 g
Vitamin A 6% daily...
Vitamin C 20% daily...
Calcium   6% daily...
Iron 10% daily...
Ingredients- Tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, olive oil, salt, garlic, basil, black pepper, calcium chloride, citric acid.

Pasta- Safeway Select Verdi fresh (no preservatives)
Values per cup (100g)
Calories   290
Fats, saturated 1.5 g (2% daily...
Cholesterol*   35 mg
Sodium 5mg (o% daily...; 5mg is trace only)
Carbohydrates/glucides 56g   (19% daily...
Protein   11g
Calcium   2% daily...
Iron   10% daily...
Ingredients: Duram wheat semolina flour, includes whole egg, preservatives common to all flour, riboflavin.

Italian Meatballs with Tomato Sauce, fully cooked.
Packaged frozen, Safeway Gourmet Meat Shoppe brand. Product of Canada.
Values per 6 meatballs with sauce
Calories   250
Fat 16g   25% daily value, 48% saturates
Cholesterol* 70 mg
Sodium 560mg    23% of daily...
Carbohydrate/Glucides   9g   3% daily...
   (includes sugar, 5g)
Protein   14g
Vitamin C 4% daily...
Calcium 2%
Iron   20%
Ingredients- Beef, water, toasted wheat crumbs, soy protein isolate, salt, dehydrated onion and garlic, parsley, corn protein, canola oil. Sauce has water, sugar, glucose, tomato paste, white vinegar, grape concentrate, spices, soybean oil, salt.
The tomato sauce is packaged separately, very bland. We mix it with the Classico.

*Cholesterol- 300mg/day considered a safe level for intake. Our once-yearly blood tests are within 'safe' limits, so we don't think about it.

We never worry about diet. If we like it, we eat it. Both of us are over 85.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Nov 07 - 02:41 PM

I've always been lucky, in that I didn't suffer from food allergies or high sensitivity to salt and such....but after my wife's heart transplant, she, of course, has to watch salt intake pretty carefully. As a result, *I* have been using a lot less salt than I used to, and now find that adding salt (except to certain vegetables) has begun to taste bad. I 'can' eat it, when necessary for that rare fast-food emergency, but don't crave it, and I know it's better for me.

   I do tend to compensate with added black pepper on many things, and have several pepper grinders with different levels of fineness. I also have learned a number of ways of enhancing stuff like stews & soups with a selection of non-salty herbs & spices. It makes cooking (the little I do) even more fun.

Subject: RE: BS: Overconsumption of salt in N.A. diet...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 Nov 07 - 06:15 PM

I always eat exactly what I like too, Q...and I like lightly salted food, as opposed to more heavily salted food. I like oriental food. I like fruit juice and water. I don't like most fast food, most junk food, most alcoholic beverages, most commercial pastries, most pizzas, most canned food, most commercial soups, and most processed foods. I like fresh fruits, frash vegetables, raw unsalted nuts, and moderate amounts of fish, other seafood, and chicken and small amounts of beef or lamb.

Most fast food and junk food is too heavily salted for my taste. Much processed food possesses a higher salt or sugar content than I deem agreeable to my taste.

Note that I did not once say "all", Q. ;-) I said "most" and I said "much", I did not say "all". The only thing about "all" I can say is that all the things I normally eat and drink are things I like the taste of. I don't eat them because it fits some preconceived diet plan that I read in a book somewhere. I eat them because I like them.

If I only live till 65 or 71, fine with me. If I live longer, equally fine. ;-) It's not a competition. It doesn't matter how long one lives, in my opinion, but how much one enjoys one's life while it's happening.