Jennie James

Jennie James

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Reasons Why You Always Crave Salt

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I honestly didn't believe I was that big into salt. That is until I realized cheese has a lot of sodium in it. As a matter of fact, ounce per ounce, your average cheese packs as much sodium as a salt-filled bag of potato chips. Crazy, right?

Why do we crave salt?

Stress kicks salt cravings into high gear.

Increased sweating from exercise makes you lose sodium.

Being tired makes you hungrier. When you’re sleep deprived, your ability to ignore a tempting craving gets weaker. 

You're dehydrated, but mistake it for hunger.

You're bored. If you're used to reaching for a salty snack during that mid-afternoon slump or watching TV at night, your cravings could simply be related to habit or boredom.

You're restricting yourself too much. You may start to over-fixate on the food you’ve cut out causing them to be all you think about.

Sodium cravings may have health or biological explanations. Health conditions like Addison's disease and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) are potential causes. Your menstrual cycle could also be a factor. 

So what can you do?

First of all, remember that this is a gradual process.

Instead of processed, prepared convenience foods, which are typically loaded with added salt for flavor and preservation, try to recreate these goodies at home. 

When looking at pre-packaged items, read the nutrition labels and look for “reduced sodium” and “no salt added.”

Instead of using salt to make your food taste good, use herbs, spices, seasonings, and lemon juice. There are even salt-free seasoning blends.

(RealSimple)


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