Should salt be added while cooking or before eating?
Do you recommend against adding table salt while cooking and before eating?
Can we get all the required sodium from the vegetables that we eat? I have heard that the amount of sodium the body needs/uses is around 300mg per day. Is that correct?
Dr. Gourmet Says...
I don't recommend using added salt at the table. I am a big fan of measuring salt carefully when cooking recipes.
Here's the minimum Recommended Daily Allowance of sodium for different age groups.
Age group |
Minimum sodium requirement (mg/day) |
|
| Infants | 0-0.5 year |
120 mg |
0.5-1 year |
200 mg |
|
| Children | 1 year |
225 mg |
2-5 years |
300 mg |
|
6-9 years |
400 mg |
|
10-18 years |
500 mg |
|
| Adults | 500 mg |
|
| Pregnant Women | 569 mg |
|
| Lactating Women | 635 mg |
It would be very easy to get the minimum RDA for sodium from veggies alone. Eight ounces of raw broccoli has about 75 mg, for instance. Many foods contain a fair amount of sodium in their natural state. Examples include a cup of milk with 125 mg and 4 ounces of beef at about 70 mg.
Thanks for writing,
Timothy S. Harlan, M.D.
Dr. Gourmet