Medical herbalist Nicola Parker  explains how aromatic herbs can help you kick that salty foods habit

As any chef will tell you, salt, sugar and fat are three big providers of flavour but unfortunately, all these foods are known to have a negative impact on is the heart.
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I love food. To me, if you can take pleasure from your food then you are well on your way to living a beautiful life. Being of that mindset, I like to surround myself with people who also enjoy food. I like my meal times to be an event, not just a plate of fuel to keep me alive and functioning. I also like my meals to be healthy. I like a lot of vegetables, large amounts of fresh herbs, healthy oils and minimal use of sugar, fat and salt.

This is where me and my food loving friends start to disagree, and clashes in the kitchen can occur if we are unable to compromise. As any chef will tell you, salt, sugar and fat are three big providers of flavour. This is why fast food is such big business.

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Unfortunately, all these foods are known to have a negative impact on is the heart. High salt intake is linked to high blood pressure, diets high in saturated fats are linked to high cholesterol and high sugar intake can lead to diabetes, all of which increase the risk of heart related disease and death.

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Well, that sounds cheery doesn’t it? You can imagine why I’m such a blast to be around in the kitchen. The truth is, I have no problem using these ingredients in my cooking. My concern is not that they are used, but that they are abused.

Take salt, for example. Salt is sneaky. A small amount of salt can bring a dish to life, but over use of salt is so normal that it is not uncommon for someone to add salt to their food before they have tasted it. This stealthy and seemingly innocuous habit can build a reliance on salt for flavour. Eventually, nothing tastes of anything unless we are adding lots of salt to our plate.

Salty snacks can make a daily appearance, including salted nuts, cheese, salted meats like bacon or sausage. These foods, as well as salt at the dinner table and whatever is added during the cooking process, overwhelms the palate and develops a reliance on salt along with all the health problems that go with it.

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Salt affects our mineral levels and can reduce our magnesium, a mineral important for muscle function, heart health and blood pressure. Low magnesium can make sleeping difficult, cause excessive sweating, worsen muscle pain, headaches and more commonly, cramp and restless leg syndrome.

But don’t worry. All is not lost. My chef friends do not hate me and you do not need to eat bland food for the rest of your life. Removing salt from your dinner table, minimising your intake of salty foods and limiting what you use in cooking will actually help your palate develop over time. You’ll begin to taste more foods, enjoying the complexity of flavours that were disguised by salt before.

This can take a month or two and in the meantime, I encourage the use of strong, pungent aromatic herbs to break through that salt addiction.

Garlic, onions, rosemary, thyme and sage all burst with flavour that is anything but subtle especially when lots of them are used. Garlic is especially pungent and also an excellent aid in promoting heart health. I use an aged garlic extract called Kyolic Garlic, the first remedy I ever recommended in my practice for lowering blood pressure.

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I was still in training and quite nervous when approached in my shop. This led the lady questioning me to feel nervous about my recommendation. We discussed a plan for her to return, a week after using the Kyolic Garlic, for another blood pressure test so that we could be certain of it’s efficacy.

The results were significant! She was delighted, I was delighted and 12 years on, I’m still recommending that exact remedy today.

In my clinic, I use a whole host of methods for managing blood pressure, including but not limited to dietary interventions. Salt is not the only contributing factor, but it is a common one. Low salt, lots of herbs and if needed, remedies like Kyolic Garlic for more dramatic results.

l For more information, or to book an appointment with Nicola, contact her clinic on 01524 413733.

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