Balanced diet

We all want peace in our lives but are confronted by one common enemy which stops us from living a tranquil life — tension. This is a common problem which limits one’s potential to give a 100 per cent to anything they put their mind to; even sleep. Perhaps it is the expectations of those at home and at work that leads to such failures and dealing with them emotionally may not be enough. But there has to be more to it, something deep rooted within us that we simply fail to accept or resolve due to our lack of awareness. It may not be an emotional problem to start with.

Speaking of awareness, the prevalent crisis in today’s world is that tension itself is not a disease. It is the root cause of many diseases, some of which are directly related to our diet. Current health advice warns against the consumption of too much sodium in our daily diet. The warning is based on research suggesting that eating high amounts of sodium may contribute to the development of high blood pressure in certain people. Although sodium is an absolute necessity as a mineral without which our nerves and muscles would cease to function, the absorption of major nutrients would be impaired, and the body would not be able to maintain adequate water and mineral balance. At present, there is no accurate test to determine who may be sensitive to the negative effects of sodium and hence the dilemma.

On the other hand, sodium is a regular part of our food supply. It is found naturally in meats, nuts, grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy products in low quantity. Unfortunately, most of the sodium we eat today is added to food in the form of sodium chloride, popularly known as table salt. However, salt can also be a major contributory factor when it comes to the problem of high blood pressure.

To ensure that you minimise your intake of salt, here are a few tips:

As long as you are getting a proper balanced diet, your food will contain enough salt without any need to add more while eating.

Learn how to read food labels. Most foods now carry nutritional information including the quantity of sodium which the food in question contains. Purchase low-salt snacks.

An increasing range of foods today come in sodium-free or low-sodium options and, wherever possible, you should choose these over the regular product.

Thankfully, today we are nation blessed with alternatives today. Products with reduced salt or low sodium salt are available in selected cities and outlets. All one has to do is to replace regular salt with low-salt alternatives without sacrificing the goodness of taste and the ingredient itself. In fact by doing so you are taking the first step towards a tension free lifestyle.