Toss the Salt and Spice Up Your Life

Here's a crazy stat: only 3% of Americans consume the Institute of Medicine's recommended 1,500 mg or less of sodium per day (the upper limit, FYI, is 2,300). That's a bad thing, since high sodium consumption can raise blood pressure, which is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
"It is difficult to adhere to guidelines for sodium intake because sodium is very common in the food supply," said Cheryl Anderson, Ph.D., of the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine's Division of Preventive Medicine. "To meet guidelines, it is recommended that Americans prepare and consume fresh foods instead of packaged or processed foods." Which, let's face it, is way easier said than done.

So a new study from Anderson and her team of researchers is promising: they tested out an intervention focusing on teaching participants to flavor their food using herbs and spices, and found that by the end of the study period, compared to a control group, the intervention group was taking in significantly less sodium.

The study
The study, which was presented at an annual conference hosted by the American Heart Association, followed 55 volunteers involved in a two-phase experiment spanning 24 weeks. At the start of the study, more than 60% of them had high blood pressure, and about 18% reported diabetes or weight problems.
For the first four weeks, all participants followed a low-sodium diet with foods flavored with herbs and spices. For example:

• Meat flavored with a rub made from olive oil, coffee extract, cherry extract, smoke paprika and smokehouse pepper
• Spreading olive oil flavored with garlic powder on unsalted bread before making grilled cheese
• A marinade made with lime juice, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder and honey

For the remaining 20 weeks, participants were either asked to lower their sodium intake on their own or partake in a behavioral intervention program designed to educate them on low-sodium eating. The sessions focused on ways to substitute salt with herbs and spices when cooking. Anderson and her colleagues found that, although sodium intake went up for both groups following the initial four-week intervention, those participating in the behavioral sessions ate significantly less salt over the 20-week period. On average, they consumed nearly 1,000 daily milligrams of sodium less than the control group.

"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," Anderson explained.

Spice it up - for better overall health
The results backup a number of other studies highlighting the benefits of bringing a more diverse range of spices into your cooking. One example is a recent paper from the University of Kentucky, in which researchers show that curcumin — a compound occurring in curry — may slow the growth of breast tumors.
With some development, the education model outlined in the study could prove a valuable tool for health officials working to sodium-related health complications like hypertension, osteoporosis, and kidney disease. "Given the challenges of lowering salt in the American diet, we need a public health approach aimed at making it possible for consumers to adhere to an eating pattern with less salt. This intervention using education and tasty alternatives to sodium could be one solution."
Large-scale interventions, including increasing access to fresh foods and whole grains, will likely be necessary to help people achieve lower sodium levels nationwide, according to Anderson.
"We need to be mindful of food access issues and how they are playing out for some of our most vulnerable citizens..." Anderson said. "Spices and herbs are a wonderful message, because from an access perspective, people can grow herbs and spices relatively cheap; people could get to them relatively easily if they have a supermarket somewhere close by. But we need to be mindful of how the message of ‘eat more herbs and spices’ reaches everyone, not just those of us who have more access or means."




 Sources: http://newsroom.heart.org/, http://www.medicaldaily.com/, http://www.self.com/, http://www.foxnews.com/