Mark Anthony Esperida

Salt: Spice or Vice?

The relevance of food chemistry in our life is exemplified if we consider the food we eat. For example, an egg hardens when cooked because of changes that happens in its chemical structure when exposed to heat.
A kitchen is just like a science laboratory. Let us examine the chemical nature of food and other ingredients found in the kitchen.
Salt is the original additive. Essential for life salt or sodium chloride controls many bod functions. Salt is one of the five taste sensations we can detect with sensors or taste buds on our tongues. In the kitchen, we use salt as a preservative, to help strengthen the dough,and to emphasize the flavors of the food we eat.
Salt preserves food by taking out moisture, thus preventing bacteria to grow. The charge on the sodium and chloride ions in dough and meringues can help bind charged protein molecules, thus making them stronger.
Although salt was once one most precious commodities. Romans can prove this because Roman soldiers are paid a “salary” to buy their salt. Today, salt is a common thing and added to nearly all processed foods, both as a flavor enhancer and as a preservative.
Can you imagine food without salt? Perhaps not. We, Filipinos, crave for food with salty taste. Just look at our menu: bagoong, adobong baboy, tapsilog, roasted pig, crispy pata and many more. But children of today they are getting crazy for junk foods. They want to eat junk foods all the time. Some of us can not eat without patis or toyo. Yes, salt is the spice of our gastronomic life.
It is not bad. We do need salt in our body. Chemically, table salt is nothing but sodium chloride. The sodium part is essential to good health. It helps transport electric charges between nerves and muscles, and maintains the balance of fluid in our body. It is also involved in the proper functioning of the heart. The body need only a small amount of sodium to function properly, about a half gram daily, the equivalent of a quarter teaspoon.
Sodium is present in nearly all plants and animals we consume. Many processed foods contains a large amount of sodium which may come from table salt, vetsin or monosodium glutamate or baking soda or sodium bicarbonate. While sodium is not in itself bad, taking it in excess is. Findings show that people who habitually consume large amount of salt develop hypertension or high blood pressure. Also, people with hypertension can lower their blood pressure if they follow low-sodium diet or intake.
Here is why: Too much sodium causes the body to retain fluids. And too much fluids in the blood stream causes great pressure on the walls of arteries. In some people, this cause dizziness and swelling of the legs.
What can we do to avoid this? Remove the table salt, patis and toyo from the table when you eat. Substitute other herbs and spices for salt in flavoring food. Eat foods low in salt which includes skim milk,fresh fruits, asparagus, broccoli and green beans. Eat less of foods with too much salt, particularly processed foods, such as, cheese,cereals, cured and smoked meats,pickled delicacies, snack foods and etc. Drink plenty of water.
If you can't live with this, I mean without salt, do not tell me I did not warn you.
Bon apetit! Mesdemoiselles et messierus.

posted by markanthony @ 1:03 PM