Salt

[Toddy]

Regret, I have to disagree Toddy.

Tipping salt onto food before tasting it in some sort of culinary reflex is to disregard the flavours that the cook has worked to achieve.

I said...."everyone tastes then chooses"......I even know someone who likes to shake a little salt on their custard

We're all different, but I'd prefer folks enjoy the food I cooked rather than me insisting they add nothing to it.

 

[British Red]

Monosodium glutamate is also massively demonised despite it have about 40% less sodium than sodium chloride and absolutely zero evidence it causes any harm whatsoever. It got a bad name, that unfortunately stuck, after claims it caused headaches, and now people actively avoid it. All totally ridiculous really, it's a superb ingredient.

Agreed. Vital in many dishes

 

[Tengu]

I would say it is Bad because it encourages poor cooking.

(And there are lots of natural sources; anything Umami, of course, which I assume you utilise)

 

[demented dale]

Maybe start a new thread for survival related exercises. Not sure people would easily find it in a thread dedicated to mostly Salt type items.

Just a suggestion.

I could yes. I was just asking if anyone had a copy. I just remember it from school of all places. xxx

 

[GreyCat]

Salt in diet is interesting. If you follow a very low carb diet (hence will typically run with a low insulin level in the blood), you must ensure you are getting enough salt. Turns out that insulin has a effect on a lot of other hormones including those that manage salt retention by the kidneys.

If your insulin level is high, you will retain a lot of salt in the kidneys and indeed you must be very careful to minimise input. Equally, on a strict low carb diet, you can end up excreting a lot of salt- and may need to make sure you are getting some- especially if you are having quite a few low-carb greens (e.g. celery, dark green salad leaves) and exercising in hot weather.

So no, sodium isn't the enemy IMO- raised insulin and insulin resistance is. It influences so many things, and so if we can manage insulin resistance and also reduce overall inflammation (the two tend to go together) then we can eat a tasty dish of (say) scrambled eggs cooked in salted butter without any issues.

Unfortunately, the modern diet is filled with things that will make insulin resistance and inflammation worse in those who are pre-disposed. Cheap seed oils, a carb-heavy diet from highly processed grains, loads of refined sugar- it's not the traditionally processed meats that worry me, it's the highly processed carb foods and anything made with or cooked/packed in seed oils. They are everywhere, you need to buy basic foods (meat, eggs, veg, olive oil, butter, traditional cheese) to avoid them.

But as ever with such things- not everyone reacts the same and YMMV.

GC