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Much of the information in low-salt courses is basic. But some of it varies according to regional tastes. Sophia Taylor, 64, has learned low-sodium cooking in a follow-up program for hypertensives in Jackson, Miss. Because she is used to salt-heavy Southern dishes, some of the things she was warned against are special. Avoid instant grits. Do not use self-rising flour, because it is full of soda and baking powder. Do not cook with salt pork. Use yeast-leavened bread. The course also gives instruction on how to make low-sodium corn bread and biscuits. Recalls Taylor: "Before my taste buds adjusted, the squash, the okra just tasted yukky. But I finally got used to it. Now the thought of eating salted nuts makes me think I'm eating brine." Most of the advice Taylor received would be useful anywhere. Avoid cheese, and if you cannot do that, at least do not buy processed slices, which have far more sodium than the block. In the supermarket, do not buy any product if salt is listed among the first three ingredients.
It may take from three to six weeks or people to adjust to life with less salt. After making the break, many prefer lower-salt foods. Says Ardelle Tuma, vice president of Chicago's Carson Pirie Scott department stores: "I found that unsalted butter has a fantastic taste all its own, and vegetables have a finer, purer flavor without salt." The reason may be that a high-salt diet blunts the natural ability to perceive salt, while cutting back makes the palate more sensitive. Research by Berkeley Food Sciolist Angela Little has led her to believe that "high intake of salt produces a salty background in the saliva, raising the threshold at which salt is noticed in food."
If salt is bad, and it certainly is for many people, why do they like it so much? The answer, suggests University of Minnesota Hypertension Expert Louis Tobian, is that in prehistoric times, man's taste for salt may have been an advantage. He says: "In a world of salt-poor plants, there was no chance of his getting too much." But the desire for salt may have propelled him to find a valuable nutrient.
There is no evidence, though, that a taste for salt is inborn. Babies show a clear natural preference for sweetness, but as a group are indifferent to the taste of salt. Some babies do appear to like salt more than others, and recent research now suggests that those who do, have higher blood pressure, an indication of a hypertensive future.
As if to confirm that the low-salt way may become the wave of the future, Morton Norwich, which converts millions of pounds of salt into dollars every year, reports that sales have dropped 10% over the past five years. But the company need not be glum. Sales of Morton's salt substitutes have risen 12%. So have the sales of other brands of table-salt substitutes. Store managers report NoSalt, perhaps because of its TV advertising, is selling so fast they cannot keep it in stock.
Most of the substitutes are made of potassium chloride. They may taste salty enough but can be so bitter that gourmet cooks tend to avoid them entirely. There is a possibility of danger too, according to some doctors. In very large doses, potassium can cause gastrointestinal ulcers, and for some kidney patients, more moderate doses can be lethal.