Oh , salt . So tasty , yet so bad for us . We postulate it to inhabit , but too much can lead to highbloodpressure and early death . Because common salt is so operose to feel in the state of nature , our ancestors evolved to lust it , but it ’s a dangerous biologic heritage . rather of having to get our common salt from mineral deposition and brute blood ( both of which taste fearsome on salad , incidentally ) , we can get a ace - sized sodium back breaker in just about anything we eat .
Part of the problem consist in processed foods , namely that we are eating way too much of them . concord to the Mayo Clinic , processed food account for about 77 per centum of Americans ' sodium intake . Those process foods include salad dressings , which are some of the saltiest offenders . Two teaspoon of commercial salad dressing can have anywhere from 200 to 400 milligram of atomic number 11 . That ’s just one serving , but who only uses two teaspoons of salad dressing when a dollop from a ladle at a salad barroom is usually about four ? And while 2,300 milligrams of Na is the recommended daily maximum , if you ’re see your salt intake , you really should be hit for closer to 1,500 milligrams .
That ’s bad news , but there ’s a bright side : If you need to trim down down on the amount of sodium in your dieting , salad dressing is one of the best home to start . However , as you may have comment , high - Na salad medical dressing are yummy while " lite " and " broken - sodium " stuffing are often flat and unappetizing . Can you really expect to observe a low - Na salad binding that does n’t savour like fluid newspaper ?
The brusk response is yes , but all salad dressings are not make alike . Vinegarandolive oildressings tend to have the least salt in them , but vinaigrettes can get a small boring . Other staple like Russian , Thousand Island and Ranch dressings are almost always loaded to the gills with common salt , and their low - sodium counterparts are dim shadows of the originals .
Luckily , you’re able to make your own salad dressings at home in just a few seconds , and you’re able to assure exactly how much salt rifle into them without sacrificing flavor . While there are salt substitutes like potassium chloride that you’re able to apply to flavor your homemade blend , we recommend these spices to provide all the taste you involve ( while spar your origin pressure ):
Plus , you don ' t have to stick to acetum and oil – buttermilk , yogurt and creme fraiche , all of which are very low in sodium , make excellent bases .