Suniel Shetty, known for his fitness, once admitted that he is extremely particular about his salt consumption. “Quantity of salt. It is never in the food. I’d rather have it sprinkled on top. No pink one for me. Regular salt for me,” he told podcaster Nikhil Kamath in 2023.
Does sprinkling salt on food instead of using it during cooking actually help control salt intake?
Dt Amreen Sheikh, chief dietitian, KIMS Hospitals, Thane, affirmed that the practice of adding salt at the end of the cooking process helps in the controlled intake of . “Usually, when salt is added during the cooking process, the food is flavoured by the salt. However, when food is not flavoured with salt, the salt on its surface helps the taste buds detect it. It helps develop the same salt flavour with a lower salt content. This practice helps the individual to control the intake of salt and reduce the consumption of salt on a day-to-day basis without the feeling of food being bland,” said Sheikh.
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Is there really a big difference between the regular salt and the pink salt from a health point of view?
From a health point of view, regular salt and pink salt contain the same amount of sodium chloride. “Though the pink salt contains trace minerals, the amount of trace minerals is extremely small. Hence, it does not really make a big difference from a health point of view. From a nutritional point of view, the will still be consuming sodium from salt. Hence, it is more important to control the amount of salt being consumed rather than the type of salt being consumed,” said Sheikh.
How much salt should an individual consume in a day?
For an average adult, it would be reasonable to limit the amount of salt consumed from all sources to a maximum of 1 teaspoon per day.
“It should be noted that a person suffering from high blood pressure, heart problems, or should be even more careful about the amount of salt in their diet. “Simple techniques of sprinkling a pinch of salt over the food after cooking, choosing fresh food over packaged food items, and tasting the food before adding salt can help an individual maintain a healthy amount of in their diet,” said Sheikh.
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