Should Salt Be Banned in Restaurant Food Preparation?

[Xipe Totec]

Paul Frumkin reports in Nation's Restaurant News that New York Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has introduced a bill that would ban the use of salt in the preparation of restaurant food across the state.

Ortiz says the ban would give more control to restaurant customers by allowing them to add salt to their own meals after they have been prepared and, thus, "exercise healthier diets and healthier lifestyles."

Ortiz goes on to say, "Studies have also proven that lowering the amount of salt people eat, even by small amounts, could reduce cases of heart disease, stroke, and heart attacks as much as reductions in smoking, obesity, and cholesterol levels."

http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/b/2010/03/10/should-salt-be-banned-in-restaurant-food-preparation.htm

I have my own opinion on the matter, I'm just going to withhold it for the moment and leave the subject open for discussion.

[The Northerner]

1. No, seems a little too controlling

[Xipe Totec]

101. Ya think?

:rofl:

FWIW, I agree!

[Posteritatis]

121. And simply idiotic to boot. (nt)

[Goblinmonger]

2. Most of the chefs I know would start a violent revolt.

If the amount of sodium in a dish is made available or indicated if high, I see no problems.

[Xipe Totec]

25. Most gourmet dishes do not even use ordinary table salt.

Gourmet Salt: Reference Guide

http://www.saltworks.us/salt_info/si_Gourmet_Reference.asp

You cannot compensate for the loss of flavors by putting a salt shaker on the table.

I just checked our pantry and found:

Celtic Sea Salt,
Himalayan pink salt
Coarse kosher salt.
Gray French salt.

I did not find any Morton's table salt.

[NeedleCast]

38. That may be true but all of those things contain sodium

That's what make salt "bad" for you (although that's only true if you're ingesting to much).

[Xipe Totec]

40. I am aware that these gourmet salts have sodium

My point is that doing away with them and replacing them with what is for all intents pure sodium chloride, is a net loss.

[NeedleCast]

42. I agree, mostly

I rarely use straight salt and much prefer the flavor of seasoning salts that mix various things with salt.

Still no reason to remove salt from menus. This legislation shows a total lack of understanding about how a restaurant works.

[kimmerspixelated]

83. Agreed! Sea Salt and Himalayan salt

are actually vital for health. Good naturally made salt (not the chemically altered kind) should never be eliminated from one's diet. Ironically, you need a little salt for blood pressure control believe it or not. However, MSG and such like that are made with crap that should be eliminated completely.

[Xipe Totec]

87. Blood plasma matches the composition of sea water

in the balance of electrolytes.

A throwback to our ancient past.

There is nothing healthier than sea salt in our diets.

Besides the obvious sodium chloride in ion form, it has potassium, magnesium, manganese, calcium, sulfur iodine,...

The list goes on.

The biggest problem with table salt is not that it contains sodium, but that it is almost pure sodium chloride, obtained not from the sea, but from salt domes; pure deposits of unadulterated sodium chloride. So much so, that they actually have to be laced with with sodium iodide (iodized salt) to make them marginally healthy.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

108. There is nothing healthier in sea salt compared to regular table salt.

In fact, given the iodine, I'd expect table salt would be technically better for you.

[Retrograde]

109. Which are salts with various impurities

as opposed to pure NaCl. All salt is ultimately sea salt, whether it's mined from ancient deposits or harvested from modern waters. They harvest salt near me: in the spring shallow enclosures in San Francisco Bay are filled with water, which evaporates over a couple of years. The resulting salt is scraped and further processed: for table salt it's redissolved and NaCl is precipitated out.

I've gotten fond of kosher salt recently, but it's just salt that's been treated to have an unnatural (for salt crystals) shape. Iodized salt is sodium chloride with various iodine salts added: the practice started to help prevent iodine deficiency which in turn leads to goiter. I suspect minimally processed sea salts contain it, but I'd just as soon get my iodine from seafood.

For more than you might possibly want to know about salt check out this book

Getting back to the topic: I expect professional chefs use more salt in their dishes than I would normally do so I don't add any when I eat out. The easiest ways to cut sodium intake are first to stop eating out - especially at fast food places - and second to avoid pre-packaged foods and ingredients. People need salt, just not as much as some are currently consuming. Once I started using less, I find I appreciate the taste more, especially when I use it for finishing. Bread made without salt, though, tastes flat to me.

[Xipe Totec]

119. Impurities?

I beg to differ.

Since when are other essential halides merely 'impurities'? By who's definition? Although sodium chloride is the largest component of sea salt, it is by no means the only ingredient. Lithium and potassium are also present from the alkalines, and fluorine iodine and bromine from halogen column. Sulphur and magnesium, are also present.

Mined salt is not simply dehydrated sea salt; it has been separated through multiple cycles of recrystalization into it's various components. Until little is left but the pure NaCl. As a chemist, I should know about refinement through recrystalization.

[NashVegas]

129. That Doesn't Matter, Not In the Least

In the first place, not every restaurant serves gourmet food.

Humans NEED salt, and iodized salt is part of a healthy diet, when taken in moderate, reasonable portions.

Restaurant cooks don't overdo the salt - the problem is the table salt their patrons smother on.

[SoxFan]

3. Felix Ortiz can kiss my salty Irish ass

That is all.

[Donnachaidh]

10. Umm -- how do YOU know your ass is salty?

Enquiring minds you know.... :rofl:

[donco6]

4. Dumb idea. He obviously is no cook.

Many dishes require salt in their prep. Are we going to ban oil next?

[randr]

5. Salt is chemically required for the preparation of many dishes

The use of salt for flavoring can be to disguise a bland dish or just the inexperience of a cook.
Most fine chefs would only use it as required for a dish and not as a flavor.
Lets keep the government out of our kitchens and try to become more responsible for ourselves.

[paulsby]

43. such as salt brining

i make many salt brined foods myself fwiw

sour pickles (cucumbers brined in salt)
gravlax (salmon brined in salt, pepper, brown sugar, vodka and dill)
etc.

[leveymg]

6. Why not ban 'em all: sugar, fat, cholestorol, meat, dairy, wheat gluten . . .

It'll give people more reason to stay home and enjoy healthy meals with their families.

[Donnachaidh]

12. what's left? Tree bark? n/t

[leveymg]

22. Legunes, lichen, moss, grass, and moldy stuff.

Yummy, if you're a caribou.

[dustbunnie]

59. The best fromages are moldy. And these are salty so there goes even that.

:)

[donco6]

74. I think you have to add salt to STOP the process mid-stream.

Otherwise you have a mess.

[dustbunnie]

85. Ahhh, so that's why. I'm not that cheese savvy, although I love most of them.

Now that I know about the moldy rinds though, I cut them off the camembert. :D

[donco6]

97. Me too. I mean, I have to draw the line somewhere.

Though I love a good blue cheese, fer sure. Mmmmm.

[dustbunnie]

126. Me too. Yummo! If you've never tried it, add a dollop of blue or gorgonzolla --

to tomato sauce some time before it's finished. Oh my god, it's so creamy and has a little kick to it... just impossibly delicious!

[leveymg]

116. Fromages Francais - "it is the smell of the feet of God!"

Product based on cheese ex. fromage fort. About the very odorous "époisse", French poet Paul Valéry said "it is the smell of the feet of God!"

As Pepe Le Peux put it so well, "Le Peux!" But, it is dairy . . . tres mal.

[dustbunnie]

125. Then I worship at the feet of Gods... and feast on them too!

Ils puent, mais le gout est si bon!

Shame that everything dairy... fromages, mousses, pudding, ice cream tastes so fine, and yet is so bloating! :)

[Donnachaidh]

95. probably a lot healthier than Mickey D's though

:rofl:

[jmowreader]

132. Because if you ban all that stuff, there won't be any ingredients left

As for your other assertion...if people don't know how to cook healthy, they won't eat that way. For instance, last night I came home to find this...well, I guess you'd call it a casserole. It contained white rice, chicken with the skin still on it, and cream of mushroom soup all liberally dosed with Lowrey's seasoned salt.

[Scout]

7. No. n/t

[lynne]

8. YES, salt should be eliminated by law in all food prep and serving -

- Tub baths should also be prohibited by law due to potential slip/fall injury and drowning. Left turns should also no longer be allowed - right turns only!

The salt ban in the preparing of food is the silliest, nanniest-state, over reaction I've ever seen. First time I read it I had to check and see if I was reading The Onion. Not to mention that salt is chemically required in the prep of some foods to achieve the desired result - such as salt in bread dough to feed the yeast to allow the bread to rise. "Flat bread only" going to be the new rule, too?

The ban is also fruitless. Anyone wanting more salt can just carry their own. I know I will.

[trotsky]

23. One nit pick.

Salt doesn't feed the yeast when making bread.

[donco6]

73. Sugar. Sugar feeds yeast. And I think the carbs in the flour do it.

No?

I would think salt would inhibit yeast.

[Trillo]

86. Enzymes are said to break saccaride chains down during the fermentation,

I believe feeding the yeast glucose. One saccaride in wheat is said to be amylose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starch

Anyway, I don't care for the yeasty taste of yeast-leavened bread with no added salt, a taste that would occur with a salt "Ban".

[donco6]

96. Absolutely - bleccch! n/t

[slampoet]

131. Salt feeds everthing on earth including yeast...

Sure sugar does most of the feeding but yeast does need some salt in order to work properly.

[trotsky]

133. I think you are a little confused about what the word "feed" means. n/t

[slampoet]

134. Do i have to explain the whole metabolic process to you because you are you too lazy to google?

http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Salt-stressed-yeast-leads-to-bigger-softer-bread-Study


And i am using it properly in reference to baking. Or don't you know how to Feed a Sourdough?

[trotsky]

139. Your confusion continues.

I do not deny that salt plays a role in baking bread.

I do deny that the salt is providing sustenance for the yeast.

You may continue to get angry and insult me if you wish, but you have not said anything to contradict me.

[PVnRT]

135. Salt slows the fermentation reaction

The salt disrupts the osmotic pressure on the yeast cell walls, causing them to rupture and stop reproducing.

[slampoet]

140. Do you bake?

http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science-Nutrition/Salt-stressed-yeast-leads-to-bigger-softer-bread-Study


BTW - the "NEW" “innovative bread making process” whereby Baker’s yeast was stressed in 7 per cent salt solution that this article refers to is something i have spotted in cookbooks from the 1890's. Sometimes it takes a 100 years for science to explain what your grandmother already knew from Her grandmother.

[Donnachaidh]

9. let the yuppies in NY fight amongst themselves

The rest of us can use salt, as humans have always used salt.

[lukasahero]

41. Do you always insult people in an entire state

due to the actions of 1 person?

Nice.

[Donnachaidh]

99. as I was born in NY City YES -- got a problem with that?

real new yorkers can handle criticism.

:rofl:

[lukasahero]

112. Yeah whatever

People on the internet can claim whatever they want. You were a NY yuppie. Yeah, uh huh.

[rox63]

11. Uh, no...

People who need to restrict their salt intake can do it just fine without the govt interfering. Maybe restaurants should have to make nutritional info available to customers on request. But otherwise, they can leave well enough alone, thank you.

[The_Commonist]

13. Ever try to make a spaghetti sauce...

...or any kind of sauce, for that matter, without salt?
It's really pretty gross.
Not something you can fix up later, at the table.

This is really something very stupid, proposed by someone who needs to be removed from office.
Unfortunately he doesn't represent my section of Brooklyn, so I can't vote against him.
Supposedly, Ortiz "issued a statement saying that his intention was to have the bill only outlaw the use of salt 'as an additive', not as 'a functional component of the recipe...'" whatever the hell that means.

I have no problem with restaurants marking items as "high in sodium" on the menu, if that's what needs to happen...

[TommyO]

63. The best spaghetti sauce I've ever made was an experiment

I cooked it low, and slow, adding beef broth for several hours as the sauce reduced. The tomatoes and beef broth had a wonderful flavor, best described as umami (for those of you who don't know about umami, look it up), it was not salty at all.

[PVnRT]

137. That beef broth probably had salt in it

Plus, umami is very much related to saltiness, or reproducing the sensation of salt (as with soy sauce).

[nykym]

14. Is Mr. Ortiz aware

of why people go to a restaurant to eat. They like the food and the way the chef prepares it. So if you want less salt in your food Mr. Ortiz find a salt free restaurant or stay at home and cook salt free. geeeeeeeez!

[suston96]

15. Salt test....

Salt affects people - blood pressure - in different ways. Some people more, others less.

Easy test. Get a blood pressure monitor. Keep taking your average salt intake for ten days-maybe two weeks. Mark down your BP every day - maybe twice a day. (See link below on when to take BP).

After that period with normal salt intake, start the next ten days - or two weeks, with no salt at all.

Repeat the BP measurement for that period.

When all done compare the results. No real change indicates salt doesn't affect you as much as others who find a real change.

Not a guaranteed procedure but ask your doctor or health professional.

Also.....try this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension

As to the topic - not all people are affected by salt in the same way. Such a law banning salt is stupid and irresponsible.

[dustbunnie]

16. Then guess he wants to close down every Chinese and Japanese restaurant in existence..

You can't make an Asian meal without soy sauce and the like. All I can say is NOBODY is taking away my dim sum and there many of the same opinion. Not as familiar with Thai food so can't comment.

Also, it's obvious he needs to spend more time watching the Food channel. Salt is used to balance out the many ingredients used in flavorful, fine cooking. Julia Child would've had a seizure at the idea. There's nothing wrong with offering a side menu of heart smart, lower fat, low sodium meals, but we already have that in many restaurants.

[hughee99]

17. There's a big difference between adding salt during preparation

and adding salt to the top of a dish while eating.

[Edweird]

18. Holy shit, NO!

[NJmaverick]

19. Hell no!

[calico1]

20. No.

His intentions may be good but he is focusing on the wrong target.

Most of the excess sodium in the SAD comes from fast food and processed food.

If you go to any really nice restaurant with good chefs, do you really think they are going to dump loads of salt in the food?

NYC in particular is recognized as one of the top cities in the country and even the world when it comes to fine dining. Prohibit all salt in foods and see what happens to that.

This guy has it all wrong. It is not fine dining restaurants that are the problem.

[cali]

21. Fuck Ortiz and fuck no

Salt is a necessary ingredient in many foods. And I mean necessary. I wouldn't call myself a chef but I do cook professionally and I'd quit if I couldn't use salt.

[no_hypocrisy]

24. Nearly impossible not to. Processed food like broth has sodium in a dozen forms for example.

[Shell Beau]

26. No, I think it is ridiculous.

Eat salt free at home. Ask for salt free foods when out. But don't ban it for everyone.

[blue neen]

27. Some people actually have low blood pressure and need salt in their diet.

Rep. Ortiz probably means well, but is quite misguided in his efforts.

[bobbolink]

71. That would include me. My arm works, and I can add salt.

But, yes, trying to improve health and save lives is "misguided".

For libertarians.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

78. And I can ask the waiter if the cook uses salt in a particular dish and choose something else....

...if I don't like it.

Next you'll complain that a hamburger has beef in it.

[OHdem10]

28. No, Each American has a right to do what they wish with their body.

This is just the sort of thing that gives Democrats the Mommy
tag or Nanny state.

You can run Public Service Announcements write articles
discuss on TV Programs, the pitfalls of too much sodium
intake(Salt). Educate the public--it is up to them to
decide what to do.

Furthermore, we are having a hardtime supplying police
to go after the bad guys. Who is going to enforce such
a ban??

[Liberal_in_LA]

29. NO

[NeedleCast]

30. No

Salt is in far more things than people think. It is an essential element in cooking and food preservation. Like anything, people should be aware of their salt (sodium) intake.

This is just more nanny-state, feel good politics.

[JVS]

31. Would it be possible to list the salt content of the dishes where salt is needed for preparation?

Generally, I am of the opinion that salt should be added by the person sitting at the table rather than the cook whenever possible. But in some instances this arrangement is impossible. Still, the consumer should have a way of getting information.

[Cleita]

35. That would seem like a more sensible solution. n/t

[NeedleCast]

37. It would be possible, but it would be hard

Except for fine dining restaurants, most places are preparing from semi-scratch anyway. Sauces, soups, bases, broths...lots of that stuff comes in a big can that many or may not list the salt content per serving and when you start breaking that stuff down, it becomes near impossible to give any sort of guess as to the total salt content.

Lets say you go to a typical U.S. Restaurant chain and have a small salad, pasta dish and desert.

There's almost certainly salt in your salad dressing. There's probably salt in your pasta sauce and the pasta itself was probably cooked in salted water and if your desert has any sort of dough/bread in it, there's likely some salt in that too. Not a lot in any of them really, but some and it would take a lot of time to figure out how much salt you'd actually ingested (and it probably wouldn't be very accurate).

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. California does that now

and people have the option of looking at calories, salt and sugar, as well as other nutritional information.

[Ratty]

50. Anytime you saute an onion

That would be a pretty huge list

[RedEarth]

53. Some of the chains put nutritional information on their websites... here's one from Chilis

Needless to say, most people don't look at a resturants website prior to going out to eat, so putting the nutritional information in the menu or some place in the resturant would help.

An example from Chili's...Buffalo Chicken Crisper Bites with Bleu Cheese Sandwich without sides....1650 calories, 103 grams of fat and 5370 mg of sodium.... another example....Southwestern Cobb Salad...1080 calories, 71 grams of fat and 2650 mg of sodium.

http://www.chilis.com/EN/Nutritional%20Information/Chilis_Nutrition_Menu_Generic.pdf

.......and a recent article on sodium.....

Too Much Salt Hurting Majority (70%) of Americans

Americans already eat way more than the recommended amount of salt, and now the CDC finds that even lower recommendations apply to 70% of us.

New data show that the average U.S. adult consumes one-and-a-half teaspoons of salt every day. That's a half teaspoon more than the basic daily recommendation of one teaspoon (about 2,300 milligrams of sodium).

But the recommendation is much lower for people with high blood pressure, people over 40, and all African-American adults. These groups should be eating no more than two-thirds of a teaspoon of salt (about 1,500 milligrams of sodium) per day.

More than two out of three Americans -- some 145.5 million of us -- are in those categories, the CDC now calculates.

Seven out of 10 U.S. adults get 2.3 times the healthy amount of salt. It's putting us in a world of hurt, says Darwin Labarthe, MD, PhD, director of the CDC's division for heart disease and stroke prevention.

"This is a very important message," Labarthe tells WebMD. "There is no room for debate any longer that a high level of salt causes stroke and heart disease, and that lowering salt intake will diminish these very serious health consequences."

When you eat salt, your blood pressure goes up. And high blood pressure dramatically increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. Recent studies definitively show that people who eat too much salt significantly increase their risk of stroke and heart disease.

...........

Where's all that salt coming from? No, it's neither the salt shaker on the table nor the box of salt next to the stove.

"Most of the salt in our diet comes from processed and manufactured foods," Labarthe says. "Only a small fraction comes from salt added to food at the table or to home cooking."

The American Heart Association says up to 75% of our sodium intake comes from processed foods such as tomato sauce, soup, condiments, canned foods, and prepared mixes.

Salt isn't the only high-sodium chemical in our diet -- there's also baking soda, baking powder, and MSG. And on food labels, you'll see it in a myriad of other ingredients such as disodium phosphate, sodium alginate, sodium benzoate, and so on.

http://www.webmd.com/heart/news/20090326/too-much-salt-hurting-two-thirds-of-americans

[slampoet]

84. All pies, all pickles, all Cajun, all chinese, all preserved fish, almost all foods canned in glass

all hams, all hot dogs, almost all sausages, almost Everything you would eat for Jewish holidays, All yeast products INCLUDING BEER and Bread, most wines, Almost all mayo, All ketchup, Almost all mustard, Almost every Laotian-Thai-Cambodian-Vietnamese sauces, no steak sauce,........all these would be banned

A ban would also mean...NO CORNED BEEF ON ST. PATRICK's DAY OR EVER AGAIN,


No cornflakes, no shredded wheat, no branflakes, no cheerios, nearly no peanut butter, nearly no soups and certainly no bouillon, no ramen noodles, no udon noodles, Almost no pasta at all, Also Homemade Ice Cream uses salt in the preparation stage even though I doesn't end up in the final product.

And that is just the list of what i can recall without looking...

Anyone who is for this ban obviously doesn't know how to cook and CERTAINLY is no baker.

[unapatriciated]

32. no

[nadinbrzezinski]

33. Over reaction to over use of hedonics

realize that restaurant food does have more than your daily need of salt in a single dish... and that is ON PURPOSE. So there should be a way to reach a happy medium... and use LESS salt (and that goes for fat and sugar too) Of course we could also start using normal portion control... oh wait, this is the US... and this is too nanny for some...

[Cleita]

34. In the restaurants I worked in that served basic grilled foods like

hamburgers, steaks or and french fries, we never salted anything and let the customer season their food the way they wanted. I'm sure though that the condiments we would give them like ketchup and steak sauce were very salty, and also the brined meats like ham and pastrami, so I don't know how that would work out with that kind of law?

[SoCalDem]

45. True..most food that comes from the kitchen NEEDS some seasoning

Way back in '74, I started making our first child's babyfood, from what WE ate, so I deliberately stopped using seasoning while cooking...and I still cook without it..

There are ways to prepare good-tasting food without loading it up with salt.. You can always add salt, but you cannot take it out..

We stopped eating at some places when they changed their recipes to a super-salty version..we CAN taste the increase because we are not used to salty foods...and restaurants that use a lot of "pre-prepared" foods are always easy for us to detect..and then stay away from:)

[krabigirl]

36. Hell no!

[demtenjeep]

44. oh good god

how stupid

[Arkansas Granny]

46. It's a ridiculous idea. If salt is eliminated during preparation, it is nearly impossible

to get the flavor right by salting the food after it is cooked. It just isn't the same and most people would wind up using more salt at the table to compensate for the lack of flavor.

[XemaSab]

47. No

But I would possibly be in favor of a bill that voluntarily phased out restaurant meals where more than say, 2/5 of the RDA of sodium is served at a sitting.

[Odin2005]

48. This is really stupid.

[malaise]

49. We have more than a few Rastafari restaurants

that are no salt. I love their food but most of the time we eat food with sea salt.
Let people choose for themselves.

[Bold Lib]

51. NO

[madmom]

52. When I was younger I did not eat salt AT ALL. I had a habit of getting dizzy and

fainting when I got over heated. Doc said it was because I didn't eat salt, therefore I didn't sweat enough to cool down my body. Now this was years and years ago but that is my experience.:crazy:

[11 Bravo]

54. No. (Hope that helped.)

[Xipe Totec]

55. March to the beat of a different drummer, he?

:rofl:

[fishwax]

56. the idea is so absurd that it's hard to believe it's being reported accurately

but apparently it is true :crazy:

I'm all for labeling, and letting customers season to taste is fine, but salting at the table can't replace seasoning while cooking.

[Xipe Totec]

57. Makes me feel like a criminal for preparing Bacalao a la Vizcaina

Dried Salted Cod, prepared Biscayne style.

[fishwax]

60. wow, that looks tasty!

I've never had that dish before--might have to give it a shot :)

[slackmaster]

58. Customers already have the option to request reduced salt in many dishes

This is ridiculous.

[bigwillq]

61. No (nt)

[TommyO]

62. Absolutely not!

Salt is an essential flavor enhancer that needs to be added during cooking, have you ever had pasta that wasn't salted during cooking? It's horrible. Mashed Potatoes, the same.

[951-Riverside]

64. Only If they banned oil and sugar first n/t

[Xipe Totec]

65. For God's sake, don't give them any more ideas!

:rofl:

[cayanne]

66. We all need to educate ourselves about sodium intake

and quit supporting big pharma with mega bucks.

Why should people who have high blood pressure keep paying big Pharma mega bucks when blood pressure can be better regulated through lower sodium intake and exercise? Going out to dinner shouldn't cause one harm. It also causes our medical insurance costs to increase.

I have focal glomerulosclerosis and have to really watch my sodium intake by watching what I eat and reading every level. Because of this I have learned about how much sodium we are really consuming without being fully aware.
I am careful to keep my sodium intake around 1500 mg a day have to struggle because of the amount of sodium in our foods. Prepared foods are loaded, just read the labels of frozen dinners and soups, packaged rices, canned foods, etc. One can always salt their foods if they don't have a problem. I solve my sodium problem by cooking from scratch and using wonderful herbs and spices. My husband has also cut his sodium intake and we both enjoy our food just as much.

[tallahasseedem]

75. Oh Noez!!!

Big pharma has infiltrated restaurants and forced chefs to salt food for taste! How dare they?!?!!11!!!1

Wait, salt has been used since the beginning of civilization for food preservation? Damn you big pharma!!!

[cayanne]

92. What an ignorant response

Of course big pharma has a stake in what our restaurants serve us. You are also showing more ignorance when using Oh Noez!!! and ?!?!!11!!!1 straight out of FR. We're not talking about not using salt, we're talking about using less.

Start reading labels and find out how much sodium we really are eating. We have programed our brains to believe we need salt in order for food to taste good. After spending 5 years on a low sodium diet by substituting herbs and spices in place of salt, we now believe our food tastes better. When we have dinner guests, they have no idea there wasn't any added salt other than what occurs naturally in foods. of course, sausage etc has sodium so we eat it less. I buy low sodium bacon at Costco and it tastes great.

Communities and states need to lower their health care costs and lowering sodium intake will achieve that goal if they can educate people like you.

Report: US fails to fight high blood pressure
WASHINGTON — A critical new report declares high blood pressure in the U.S. to be a neglected disease — a term that usually describes mysterious tropical illnesses, not a well-known plague of rich countries.
The prestigious Institute of Medicine said Monday that even though nearly one in three adults has hypertension, and it’s on the rise, fighting it apparently has fallen out of fashion: Doctors too often don’t treat it aggressively, and the government hasn’t made it enough of a priority, either.
Yet high blood pressure, the nation’s second-leading cause of death, is relatively simple to prevent and treat, the institute said. "In our country, if you live long enough, you’re almost guaranteed to get hypertension, so this is something we should all be concerned about," added report co-author Dr. Corinne Husten of the nonprofit Partnership for Prevention.
So the institute urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to push doctors to better treat hypertension, and to work with communities to make it easier for people to live the healthy lifestyles that can prevent it. High blood pressure is sinister because it’s silent. People seldom notice symptoms until their organs already have been damaged. Hypertension triggers more than one-third of heart attacks, is a leading cause of strokes and kidney failure, and plays a role in blindness and even dementia.

http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/health/nutrition/view/20100222report_us_fails_to_fight_high_blood_pressure/srvc=edge&position=also

[dustbunnie]

93. Right, so banning restaurants from using salt is going to keep people from eating pizza pockets?

You aren't even talking about restaurants. Every one of your points has to do with supermarket processed products. So somebody doesn't get salt on their fries at Burger King then they'll go home and down a bag of chips or cheetos, load up on nitrate/sodium laden balognia sandwiches or hamburger helper and wash it down with nachos and salsa. So what's been accomplished? Nuttin.

If you're on a salt-restricted diet, it's much easier to make choices rather than have the whole world change to adapt to your medical issues. I've been on severely restricted sodium diets and it was very easy to pleasantly ask the server to bring me a salad with oil and vinegar on the side. Go to a chinese restaurant and order anything on the menu and ask for it steamed. Ask for a baked potato to replace the fries. Don't get anything with sauces. Order from the heart smart menu. How hard is that?

[cayanne]

106. I don't have a problem with sodium. because I've conquered it.

I eat out very little due to where I live. When I do go out I'm careful of what I order. Many people eat out a lot and they need to have their sodium cut back. Soups, entrees, bread and desert are often loaded with sodium that it almost satisfies your daily content on just one meal. Breakfast for most people has high sodium due to salty meats, bacon, ham and sausage. Most sandwiches people eat for lunch is processed meat and is high in sodium. So add mayo, bread, and cheese and walla, almost a days total sodium. Add all these and it adds up to twice everyone's daily requirement. This, along with less exercise, is what leads to high blood pressure, hypertension, and big bucks to big pharma, MD's and hospitals. This in turn adds to our increased medical insurance costs.

What I am saying is people need to be educated about the health costs of sodium. Chefs do not have to use a lot of salt to make their food delicious. Many people eat out and have no idea how much sodium they are taking in. Our brains need to be reprogrammed and people need to be educated on this subject.

[dustbunnie]

113. Yes, and what I'm saying is eradicating salt from restaurants won't do bupkis to help.

Good restaurants don't overload the food with salt, or certainly not remotely close to what fast food joints do to theirs. The crap that's served at fast food joints can be found at your grocery store. Bacon, smoked meats, assorted salted garbage... taking it out of one place, doesn't stop people from getting it elsewhere. Do you really think people will stand for a ban on bacon across the board? Of course not. So banning restaurants from serving it or using salt is a drop in the bucket and won't change a thing. For those who eat out a lot, they can do what I did. Ask for special treatment. When you're nice about it, the servers will help you.

People who care about their health do educate themselves. Or when they run into trouble, their doctors tell them what to do. It isn't hard to figure out that if you have a medical issue eat a lean roast beef sandwich or a hummus and tomato wrap instead of a cheesy meatball sub. But what, everybody should suffer because someone with hypertension can't spend thirty minutes on eatforhealth.com in order to make proper choices? Wait, don't answer that. This is America. :)

[tallahasseedem]

110. My response...

was on par with the ridiculousness of your CT post.

By the way, I find your "educate people like you" comment hilarious. As if your quick Google search from your keyboard commando headquarters in Idaho will somehow make me feel like I was pwned.

[WinkyDink]

80. Well, I DON'T have whatever, and I'm a salt FIEND.

[Xipe Totec]

88. My blood pressure is 110/70

and I need salt to keep it up there, at age 54.

Not everybody out there has Chernobyl blood pressures.

[donco6]

100. Mine's low, too.

My sister and I both. We often had trouble fainting as kids.

[Xipe Totec]

105. There you go!

Not everybody is a victim of high blood pressure!

Some of us, suffer from the opposite.

So this sodium is bad for you mantra is bullshit.

[Name removed]

67. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nonconformist]

68. Not just no, but HELL NO.

Any decent cook (chef or otherwise) can tell you that salting during cooking vs after cooking are two completely different animals.

[The_Commonist]

79. Actually, this reminds me of a quote...

...I saw recently.

"It's so much easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too much about the problem." - Malcolm Forbes

Apparently, Mr. Ortiz doesn't know much about cooking.
And he represents an area that has many fine restaurants.
I'm sure he gets laughed at now when he goes out to eat...

[FourScore]

69. No.

[sakabatou]

70. No

However, listing sodium levels in menus may help.

[pipoman]

72. This is doubtless the stupidest idea ever...

as a chef and as someone who eats, only a complete fool would seriously propose such nonsense.

[donco6]

76. +1000. And I'm not even a chef.

but I do watch a lot of cooking shows. Does that count?

[pipoman]

98. yep, it does

[WinkyDink]

77. OFGS. ALL chefs---if not all amateur cooks---know that SALT = a crucial flavor-enhancer.

[slampoet]

90. Also Yeast doesn't work w/o salt

So no Beer either.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

81. Mr. Ortiz should be challenged to go ask his mother, grandmother or aunt.....

....if she has any recipes that she uses salt, and promptly fine them if they do.

[Sebastian Doyle]

82. I would never ban salt.

Though they should certainly use a lot less of it. You need some flavor? Add garlic or hot peppers or whatever..

Now Monosodium Glutamate, on the other hand, that shit I would ban in a heart beat. Followed by aspartame and high fructose corn poison.

[Luciferous]

89. No. Banning salt is going a little too far. Maybe try and limit the

amount of salt used?

[apocalypsehow]

91. Let's just ban food and be done with it. IV drips-only for nutrition & sustenance. n/t.

[Blue-Jay]

94. How can you ban salt?

Why would you want to?

[Xipe Totec]

104. Squirrels are allergic to salty nuts

Just saying...

:shrug:

[JustAnotherGen]

102. No

Absolutely not.

[Xipe Totec]

103. You seem to be in the minority here

Kiding!







:hide:

[juno jones]

107. What we need to ban is patrons automatically dousing stuff with salt

without even tasting first.

Most chefs I know use very little salt, knowing the usual habits of most patrons.

[demwing]

111. no

that's all, just no

[Motown_Johnny]

114. anyone who thinks that can't cook.. the answer is a firm NO! (n/t)

[sendero]

115. Ludicrous...

... WTF.

[NuttyFluffers]

117. this is honestly the most important issue in an economic downturn & budget crisis?

seriously, lawmakers should learn that when you are not out to fix real emergencies or invest in infrastructure, it's OK to not make another law.

[Swamp Rat]

118. New York Assemblyman Felix Ortiz is an imbecile.

:dunce:

[Ignis]

120. Hell no. BUT...

Sodium content of meals should probably be listed so that people can make informed decisions about their health.

[apples and oranges]

122. WTF? so all restaurant meals should be bland now?

If you don't want salt, prepare your own meals at home!

[Kitty Herder]

123. Of course not.

Judging by what taste buds tell me, it's not restaurant food that's the big problem. It's fast food and pre-prepared packaged foods that are super salty. Restaurant food is salty, but not that bad.

Besides, the human body needs salt. I've heard of people who eat out for every meal. (People like that would die where I live. We have a really bad hamburger joint and a mediocre pizza place and that's all so they'd have to learn to cook.) Should we sentence such people to die of hyponatremia? :P

For most people, who only eat out occasionally, the salt in restaurant meals isn't a problem because they're only eaten once in a while as a treat. What this proposal would do is ruin that treat. It's like proposing that the sugar be removed from all ice cream.

[Hannah Bell]

124. besides the fact it's important in cooking, it's also the primary source of iodine for

some % of the population.

& low iodine = problems

"Before the connection of iodine and thyroid function was made, people realized that goiters (large thyroid gland seen as a swelling in the neck) were more common in certain areas-areas we recognize as low in iodine in the average diet. Indeed, the area around the Great Lakes was called the "Goiter Belt."

In the early 1900s, the Great Lakes, Appalachian, and northwestern regions of the United States were endemic regions for IDD, but since the iodization of salt and other foods in the 1920s, dietary iodine levels generally have been adequate.

However, sustaining these iodization programs has become a new concern. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), NHANES III, demonstrated that the median US urinary iodine excretion fell from 320 mcg/d to 145 mcg/d between the early 1970s and the early 1990s and that some subsets of the population may be at increased risk for moderate IDD.7

This reduction in US dietary iodine intake likely was a result of the removal of iodate conditioners in store-bought breads, widely publicized recommendations for reduced salt and egg intake for blood pressure and cholesterol control, and the increasing use of noniodized salt in manufactured or premade convenience foods."

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/122714-overview.







Cretinism is a condition associated with iodine deficiency and goitre, commonly characterised by mental deficiency, deaf-mutism, squint, disorders of stance and gait, stunted growth and hypothyroidism. Paracelsus was the first to point out the relation between goitrous parents and mentally retarded children.






the most common cause of congenital hypothyroidism is iodine deficiency.

[begin_within]

127. Not banned, but for the sake of us with elevated blood pressure, the sodium content

of everything offered should be listed on the menu. Many of us have to monitor our sodium intake.

[karynnj]

128. No

Salt enhances the taste of many foods and for most people a reasonable amount is not a problem. It is possible for people who need to control their salt to choose less salty offerings. In addition, for most people eating out is not something they do every day.

I think that in most good restaurants, people could ask discretely if a dish they want could be made without salt. Some, with already prepared sauces etc could not be made, but many could.

[in_cog_ni_to]

130. Hell yes.

Why should restaurant eaters get to enjoy their food when a particular group of people shouldn't eat salt? Whether Mr. Ortiz agrees or not, salt is not bad for EVERYONE and people can ask for "no salt" in a restaurant. Nevertheless, I support any and all Big Brother control. In fact, I'm quite enjoying the wanted salt bans, the perfume bans, the cologne bans and deodorant bans. :rofl: It's finally coming around. Gotta love that Karma. Sweet stuff. Go Big Brother! :yourock:

[WilliamPitt]

136. No

[blondeatlast]

138. Salt is necessary for some chemical reactions necessary. Hell no. nt