Make your low salt food Tasty!
If you are suffering from kidney disease, you need to follow a confined diet to help control chemical and fluid levels in your blood. This diet should limit sodium, potassium, and phosphorus in your food. It might seem hard for you to make tasty meals for yourself every day without the use of salt or any of its replacement.
But, when a recipe needs only a pinch of salt, substitute it with another herb or spice. You can help yourself by freshening up your dish by flavouring it with aromatic seasonings and herbs.
Spices that can be used:
For vegetables:
• Basil (Tulsi leaves)
• Bay leaf (Tej Patta)
• Cumin seeds (Jeera)
• Ginger (Adarak)
• Garlic (Lahsun)
• Thyme seeds (Ajvaayan)
• Star anise (Chakra Phool)
• Ground cloves (Laung)
• Black pepper (Kaali Mirch)
For fruits:
• Black Pepper (Kaali Mirch)
• Basil leaves (Tulsi)
• A squeeze of Lime (Nimbu)
• A pinch of Cardamom (Ilayachi)
• A pinch of Cinnamon powder (Dal chini)
• Coriander leaves (Dhaniya)
• Mint leaves (Pudina)
• Garlic (finely chopped)
• Ginger (finely chopped)
Tips for cooking with herbs and spices – not more than 1/4th teaspoon of dried spice (or it can be 3/4th of fresh herbs) should be added in for a meal for one.
Why limit salt?
If you eat more than 3 – 6 grams of salt (when your kidneys are not healthy), the extra sodium and fluid will buildup in your body Salt is needed for water balance in our body, but when your kidneys aren’t healthy, they lose the ability to control sodium and water balance.
How salt in your food can affect your kidneys?
Consumption of salt can affect the sodium balance, It may also result in reduced functions and less water retention which might reflect high blood pressure in your body. This puts pressure on the kidneys which harm your kidneys.
If kidney disease is left untreated and blood pressure is not reduced, the damage can lead to kidney failure. This is when kidneys are no longer capable of filtering the blood and your body gradually is compromised by its toxic waste products.
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