FOODS WITH HIDDEN SALT

Smoked, processed and cured meats

The list of meats with a high salt content includes ham, bacon, dry fish, sausages, salami and beef. Try to cut back on these foods, which often also have a high fat content, and use smoked or salt-cured meat products only in small amounts for flavouring. Also rather opt for chicken or lean cuts of meat when you have a choice. 

Fish

Fish pickles, canned fish all have a high salt content. Opt for fresh or frozen fish instead of canned fish. Choose tuna that's in water, and not in brine. Avoid smoked fish; Rinse fish such as tuna to remove excess salt.

Meat extracts and stocks

Soup cubes are loaded with salt. Plain or flavoured vinegar to flavour soups and stews. 

Sauces

Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, tomato sauce, barbecue sauce – are quite rich in sodium. 

Prepackaged and frozen foods

The list includes packaged mixes for sauces, gravies, casseroles, instant noodle, mixed rice like tamarind, lemon rice, instant soup mixes. Get into the habit of checking the labels of any packaged food. Never eat more than a single serving size; And try to prepare your own meals at home, freezing it for later use.

Cheese

Blue cheese and feta cheese have a much higher salt content than mozzarella and cottage cheese. 

Salted snacks

The culprit list includes all those favorites: from potato chips, mixture, thattai, murukku, corn puffs, low fat snacks, popcorn and crackers. Watch out for papads, vadaams. They are quite high in salt. 

Are you struggling to cut these out of your diet completely? Then try the following:

Make a point of including nuts in your diet, but always go for the unsalted varieties; 

Make your own popcorn at home and use the minimum amount of salt; 

If the labels only indicate sodium content, multiply the value by 2.5 to get the salt content.