Shouldn't there be an alternative to sodium/salt?

Question

I just had some chicken flavored rice, and just one-third of it had 1160 milligrams of sodium! I think there should be an alternative to salt, and I'm not sure why it hasn't already been created. I mean, Splenda made a sweetener to sugar, so why not salt?

Answer 1

I use lemon juice or vinegar to make things taste more flavorful instead of salt.  However, when you buy pre-packaged things, like your rice, they are usually very high in sodium.  There's no way around that until the manufacturers wisen up; you'll just have to make it from scratch at home so that you can control the salt.

Answer 2

sugar is a very complex chemical when compared to salt, the formula is C6H12O6, and that gives room for scientists to mess around with the structure to make it indigestible but also retain the flavor.

but salt is a very simple structure composed of NaCl, or sodium chloride. thats one part sodium per salt compound. the other part is a chloride.

Sodium gives salt its salty flavour and its responsible for many reactions used in cooking. If you remove the sodium from the salt, everything will taste bland. And you cant flavor food with chloride alone, unless you want your food to taste like swimming pool water.

other chemicals like potassium, magnesium, clacium and lithium can mimic the taste of sodium, but in the end they will take the same toll on your health because they react similarly.

In fact out of all these chemicals, sodium is the safest. Potasium affects your heartbeat, too much calcium can create kidneystones, lithium can affect brain function and is sometimes used as an antidepressant.

so our only option it to live with sodium as we know it, and reduce our salt consumption.

Answer 3

You can buy salt subsitutes, they are on the grocery shelf right next to the regular salt.

Answer 4

Potassium chloride is sold under several brand names as a salt substitute. If you avoid processed products you can control the amount of added salt (e.g.-cook some regular rice in chicken stock with herbs vs. chicken "flavored" rice mix). There are a lot of other things in processed convenience foods that are not very healthy.

Answer 5

i agree if they made mc donald take the fat out why cant they cut down on the salt in processed foods.

Answer 6

Salt is a NECESSARY Nutrient. Your body cannot survive without salt!

Salt DOES NOT cause high blood pressure.

People with high blood pressure are advised to limit their salt intake because salt makes the body retain water, which can further elevate blood pressure in 20% of patients with hypertension, but salt will not cause high blood pressure. That is a myth of epic proportions!!!

Unless you suffer from high blood pressure there is no need to limit your daily intake of salt.

TIMMY...

Potassium based salt less harmful than sodium?

Too much potassium WILL KILL a normal healthy person!

Too much salt will not...

Too much potassium WILL CAUSE End Stage Renal Disease (Permanent kidney failure) in a healthy person!

Too much salt will not...

Geeze... this is like telling my 70 yr. old mom, "Contrary to what you had heard all of your life; staying out in the cold will not give you a cold." You have to be exposed to the cold virus to catch a cold.

The "Salt Myth" is the same way...

Answer 7

There is, it's called Mrs. Dash and it's in the spice section of your supermarket.

Answer 8

They do have it. People with high cholesterol use it.  Its not uncommon actually...

Answer 9

there is Lemon is frequently used

Answer 10

potassium based salt, in use in most U.K schools, is less harmfull than sodium..

Answer 11

there is. i avoid salt as much as i can and i use mrs. dash. a lot of those prepackaged foods do have a lot of sodium in them.

Answer 12

there is an alternative to salt..... it is called SALT SUB.  by Morton.  

If you are concerned about the sodium in foods, quit buying pre packaged, pre processed foods.  if you want chicken flavored rice do this.

1 cup raw rice

2 cups water

2 Tbsp LOW SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH

and your chicken.

It is very expensive becaue it goes through a lot of processing.  Some companies make things that say Low Sodium, but they are still filled with salt.

example.... those dinners you buy that don't need to be refrigerated.  550 mg sodium.  that was on the commercials when they first started advertising them... Then all of a sudden, the sodium content on the commercial was missing.  

I don't use prepackaged foods.  I control the salt my family eats by doing it myself... Even my pasta sauce.