Salt is sodium chloride which, in limited amounts, is useful to the body. Together with potassium it helps with keeping fluid (e.g. water) correctly balanced and with conducting nerve impulses.

The maximum recommended adult intake of salt daily is 6 grams, yet the average adult ingests about 9 grams.

Think before adding salt to foods during cooking or serving, especially processed foods (which usually contain salt). Don’t add salt before tasting food!

Avoid foods that are heavily salted, like crisps.

Avoid drinking coffee as it can block the absorption of the potassium gained through eating vegetables.

Avoid nicotine which deadens your taste buds.

Look out for salted meats like salami, or junk or take-away food full of monosodium glutamate. Check salt content in processed and pre-packed foods. If sodium content is given instead, multiply by 2.5 to get the salt content. Salt in many biscuits is masked by their sugar content, and smoked foods contain far more salt than their non-smoked counterparts.

Cut down on salt and your dormant taste buds slowly wake up helping you to perceive other flavours, previously hidden.

Lowering salt intake:

• Drink at least 1.5 litres of still water daily, whilst cutting back on coffee and fizzy drinks.
  

• If prone to fluid retention, take Dandelion tincture, a natural diuretic that does not deplete the body of potassium.
  

• Lower backache coupled with high salt intake and low water intake? Try a complex containing Solidago to restore some life to your kidneys. Other symptoms this remedy helps are puffy eyes when waking, puffy fingers and ankles developing during the day, and general fatigue – all signs of dehydration and unhappy kidneys.
  

• Use a condiment from the Herbamare range.