Obesity: is salt supersizing our silhouettes?

Is salt supersizing our silhouettes? 

 Although a high salt intake has been shown to raise our risk of developing detrimental health complications such as hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke and heart attack, studies also suggest a direct link between dietary salt and obesity - a link that is thought to be due to an increased calorie intake as a result of one, or all, of the following factors...

 1.Calories.
Salty food sources such as salted nuts, cheese, fast food and some ready made meals can also contain a colossal amount of calories per portion - calories that can contribute to an accumulation of additional weight if these particular food sources are a predominant part of our daily diet.

 2.Portions.
Food sources that contain a substantial amount of salt per portion are rarely consumed in their recommended serving size and/or are easily overeaten - this includes fast food (we're more likely to overeat and/or over consume calories when we tuck into a takeaway), nuts (many underestimate how energy dense these nutritious nibbles are and/or fail to pin point petite and precise portions) and cheese (few stick to the recommended 30g serving size).

 3.Thirst.
Frequently tucking into salty foods can trigger a feeling of thirst - a sensation that can contribute to a supersized silhouette if we increase our intake of more flavoursome (and favoured!) fluids such as soft and fizzy drinks, both of which can be extremely energy per serving.

 Final thought: although salty food sources such as nuts and cheese contain beneficial nutrients (think calcium, magnesium and protein etc), it's important to sustain small and sensible servings of these specific sources in order to avoid consuming excess salt (an adult's daily recommended intake is 6g), and energy (calories).

 www.twitter.com/celerylips

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Weight loss: why motivation frequently fluctuates when working towards weight loss

Image
Fast weight loss fact: motivation frequently fluctuates when working towards weight loss... Despite many dieters (initial) determination to drop a dress size, the motivation to move more and make 'healthier' food and fluid choices frequently fluctuates when working towards weight loss - this can be positive (shifting the sum on the scales can act as a method of motivation to continue to make healthier choices) or  negative (stress and insufficient sleep can both minimise motivation leaving us less eager to eat well and exercise) and is a natural part of the change process that everyone  experiences regardless of whether they're shaping or  sustaining a slender silhouette.  www.twitter.com/celerylips
Read more

Fast nutrition fact: meat free substitutes aren't as healthy as they seem...

Image
Fast nutrition fact... Despite being linked to better weight management and a reduced risk of developing detrimental diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, slimmers who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet can still munch far from 'healthy' meals if they frequently favour meat free substitutes - this is simply due to the fact that these seemingly sensible sources often contain a substantial amount of salt, sugar and/or saturated fat per serving, and the equivalent amount of energy (if not more!) than their meat based counterparts.  www.twitter.com/celerylips
Read more

Weight loss & nutrition: how simple swaps can substantially improve health...

Image
Food for thought: simple dietary changes can lead to a substantial improvement in health... 1.Increased fibre intake - improved digestive health. Aside from aiding weight loss (fibre is a satiety stimulating nutrient that promotes a feeling of fullness), increasing our intake of fibre-rich food sources such as whole fruit, vegetables and wholegrains can improve our digestive health by ensuring that our bowel movements remain regular - an action that reduces the risk of suffering from the unsightly symptoms that stem from constipation. 2.Munching a morning meal - a reduced risk of overeating and additional weight gain. Making the time to munch a morning meal, even if it's something as simple as a slice of wholemeal bread smeared with a snippet of spread, is an effective way to aid the elimination of excess weight by reducing the risk of overeating (and succumbing to the mid morning munchies that see us reaching for the sweet stuff!) during the day - studies also show that th...
Read more