WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:
- Scientists claim to have found a way to reduce sodium consumption without compromising taste.
- Reduced salt snacks, though healthier, aren’t so popular because they’re not as tasty as their traditional salted counterparts.
- Calcium chloride was used to replace around a quarter of sodium chloride in the salt mix developed by researchers.
When you want to grab a healthy snack, you might want to go for something with reduced salt. They’re not exactly known for having the best taste though since they have lower sodium.
Scientists claim they’ve found a way to remedy that though. You might get to keep your salt taste that tastes like the traditional salt blend, but with lesser sodium. A food science professor at Washington State University, Carolyn Ross, along with a team of colleagues, are those responsible for the new mix. Their study was published in the Journal of Food Science.
The new blend makes use of almost a quarter of calcium chloride. Not to worry, the ingredient is not known to have any adverse effects on human health. Calcium chloride is actually another salt along with potassium chloride. Potassium chloride has quite a bitter taste though, according to Ross, which is why manufacturers have been wary about using it.
The research team looked at different blends of salt that contain less sodium chloride, the main mineral in your everyday salt. Plus, less sodium means that it’s healthier, because sodium isn’t great for your heart, increasing the risk of disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.
Ross called it a “stealth approach”. Tasters involved in the study tried different salt solutions (salt in water) and others tested various samples of tomato soup containing different salt combinations. Replacement salts were slowly added into the mixes to see how much could be blended in before people said their food wasn’t tasty anymore.
Results showed that tasters enjoyed a combination that contained 78% sodium chloride and 22% calcium chloride. Professor Ross said there was no significant difference in taste as compared to 100% sodium chloride.
This can be positive news for our health since there’s now an option to reduce sodium without compromising taste. NHS recommendations in the UK recommends consuming less than 6g of salt daily. In the US, that number is similar, recommending 2,300 mg of sodium, which also equals around 6g of salt.
Source: Daily Mail
