Is Sodium Secretly Killing Your Weight Loss?
By now, most of us understand that eating too many calories, particularly those derived from processed sugars and unhealthy fats, will prevent us from losing weight. But what about our salt intake? We've certainly been told to avoid packaged and processed foods, and one thing these items have in common is their high sodium content. It may seem strange that something with no caloric value could cause weight gain, but that's because salt does so indirectly, increasing our cravings for sugary drinks and foods, causing us to retain water, and hiding in fatty, sugary foods. If you're currently on your own weight loss journey but you've found that you have plateaued, there are many possible reasons for that, but one of them could be sodium intake. Read on to learn about the impacts of sodium on your diet, your health, and your waistline.
How Sodium Intake Stalls Weight Loss
There are many mechanisms by which sodium can impact weight loss. We'll explore the most significant below.
Makes People Thirstier
We all know what it's like: We eat a big bag of chips, a plate of nachos, or some cured meats, and suddenly our mouth feels like the Sahara desert. Salt makes us thirstier than we are normally and, more often than not, we turn to sugary drinks to quench that thirst. But these sneaky calories can add up in a big way, leading to weight gain without us realizing why.
What's more, in general, we can misinterpret thirst as hunger, so eating salty foods causes us to eat more than we actually should.
Induces Sugar Cravings
Humans have evolved to both crave and derive pleasure from fat, sugar, and salt, and the latter two in particular go hand in hand. If we eat too much of one, we invariably crave more of the other, so eating overly salted foods often causes us to turn to overly sugary foods in response — a surefire way to pack on the pounds.
Salty Foods Are Usually High in Fat and Sugar
The saltiest foods are often those that have been canned, packaged, fried, or otherwise processed, and that means high-salt foods are also often high in fat and sugar. So while the salt itself might not prevent us from losing weight, the other ingredients paired with that salt will.
Causes Water Retention
As we've established, salt in itself will not cause weight gain, but it will cause us to retain water, making us look bloated and puffy and shifting the number we see on the scale upwards. Reducing our sodium intake will have an immediate impact here, reducing the bloat and puffiness and returning our weight to normal.
How to Monitor Your Sodium Intake
Despite what some people think, there is nothing inherently evil about salt. We need it to survive, and should even actively replace our stores after vigorous exercise. We experience health problems, such as high blood pressure, kidney failure, and weight gain, only when we consume too much salt, which is almost always a direct result of eating processed foods.
This means that unless you have a remarkable fondness for salt and add vast quantities of it to your food, it's actually quite difficult to eat too much of it when cooking for yourself. Food manufacturers use sodium to ensure food stays fresher longer and tastes good enough that you keep coming back for more, and that can easily add up to too much. Avoiding processed and packaged foods, or at least choosing them mindfully, is therefore the most important step you can take toward eliminating excess salt from your diet.
The following tips and tricks will help make this transition easier.
Avoid Packaged and Processed Foods
This one is a no-brainer. When you cook foods yourself, you can control the amount of salt you add, and can choose other methods of flavoring your food to ensure your food remains palatable.
Always Read Labels
Our lives are busier than ever, and sometimes we need the convenience of processed items, but some are more virtuous than others. Always compare labels when choosing canned or packaged goods. Their sodium content varies widely, and most brands today will even offer reduced or zero sodium options. Condiments in particular can hide surprising amounts of salt (like soy sauce, for instance), so be mindful of these. Your grocery shopping may take a few minutes more, but your health (and heart, and waistline) will reap the rewards of that extra care.
Drain and Rinse Canned Beans and Vegetables
Draining your beans and vegetables can cut the sodium content by up to 38%, while rinsing them after draining raises that to 41%. This two-step process is an easy way to enjoy the convenience of canned foods without increasing the sodium burden on your body.
Eat More Potassium
Foods like bananas, oranges, sweet and regular potatoes, white and kidney beans, yogurt, and greens contain potassium, which helps mitigate the effects of sodium and can even lower your blood pressure.
Use Acid, Not Salt
Often when our food tastes bland, flat, or like it's just "missing" something, we assume the missing ingredient is salt. But in almost every instance, and as every professional chef knows, what it's lacking is acid. The next time your food falls flat, try adding something acidic, such as citrus juice, vinegar, or tomato sauce, before reaching for the salt. You'll be surprised by how much just a small dose of acid livens up a dish.
Use Fresh Herbs, Spices, Garlic, and Onions
All of these ingredients pack major flavor without adding calories, and can liven up a dish in the same way that acid does.
Watch Out for Salty Code Words
Some food preparation methods use more salt than others. Watch out for words like pickled, brined, cured, smoked, broth, and barbecued, which often indicate increased sodium.
Change Your Diet, Change Your Preferences
The last thing to remember is that, as with sugar, the more salt we eat, the more our palate craves it. By slowly reducing the sodium in your diet, you can also reduce your tolerance for it. Foods you once found delicious will soon taste overly salty, and foods that once seemed bland will come alive. Be patient, read labels, and watch as your taste buds transform.