What is a good Salt Alternative?

Question

I've tried salt substitutes such as AlsoSalt, and I liked it except for the weird after taste it left in my mouth, so I was wondering if there are any other salt substitutes?

Answer 1

Lemon juice, lime juice or even a splash of vinegar. Sour is similar to salty. You're less likely to miss the salt with a squeeze of lemon.

Answer 2

Salt Alternative

Answer 3

Spike, by Gaylord, has an herbal blend without salt. I really like it.

What you'll find is that the less you eat salt, the more you'll taste it. Everyone needs a certain amount of salt in our diet, but we just get too much. Try concentrating on using more herbs for flavor, and you might see that you can reduce the salt a great deal.

Spike, Mrs. Dash and such things are great (Just make sure to get the salt-free varieties). Experiment with herbs and see what they can do for taste and you'll be amazed at how little salt you actually need for a flavorful meal.

Answer 4

Salt substitutes are edible products designed to taste similar to table salt, which is mostly sodium chloride. They usually contain mostly potassium chloride, which when consumed increases potassium intake. Because excess potassium intake can cause potentially fatal hyperkalemia, it is advisable to check with one's physician and pharmacist before using salt substitutes based primarily on potassium chloride. This is generally not a problem because the RDA of potassium is higher than that for sodium, yet a typical person consumes less potassium than sodium in a given day.

Various diseases and medications may decrease the body's excretion of potassium, thereby increasing the risk of hyperkalemia. If you have kidney failure, heart failure or diabetes, you should not use a low salt variety without medical advice. A manufacturer, LoSalt, has issued an advisory statement.[1] that people taking the following prescription drugs should not use a salt substitute: Amiloride, Triamterene, Dytac, Spironolactone, Aldactone, Eplerenone, and Inspra.

The closes, most safe, natural, and doesn't leave that bad taste in your mouth that I've found is Sea Salt. Or you can just lower the amount of salt you use. You can achieve this by using different salt free spices on your food. If you find the right mixture of spices to use, you will find that the amount of salt you use will decrease, because the spices help bring out the natural flavor in food.

Good luck!

~ Nessa ~

Answer 5

Salt gets a bad rap.

Salt (Sodium Chloride) is really only a serious problem for a few people with very specific diagnosed conditions.

For the rest of us, salt is tainted with a sort of "guilt by association." Many of the worst diets are replete with high sodium foods. This is because fast foods and vending machine foods rely on a heavy salt content as a preservative to reduce the chance of food-borne illness, which is a common concern of such foods (fast food because it's prepared under such rushed conditions and vending food because it sits so long). These foods are really unhealthy, but mainly because of their usually high content of transfats, starches, sucrose, and high fructose corn syrup.

Use of salt on otherwise healthy foods is not a problem. The one concern beyond rare illness is that there may be higher water retention in a high sodium diet. This too is an exaggerated issue and can be combated with better beverage choices.

If you still want to lower your sodium consumption, do this moderately. Try replacing only a fraction of the total salt a recipe calls for.

In most cases, a spicy 'flavor substitute' like Ms Dash will suffice, but when a recipe calls for salt's formulaic properties it can't be replaced with an unrelated chemical. This is most true of baking recipes. The closest replacement is potasium chloride. This will satisfy the chemical properties required by the recipe better than any other substitute.

However, if you're looking for a topping to make up for that sprinkling of salt you like on your meal, you'll probably find potassium chloride pretty unpalatable.

Answer 6

I haven't read through all of the other Answers, so I hope what I'm saying hasn't already been covered.

If you're looking for a salt (which is to say, sodium chloride) substitute that actually tastes like salt---as opposed to substituting another flavor altogether, such as lemon or vinegar---you'll have to use a chemical chloride, such as potassium chloride. Things like AlsoSalt, which you've mentioned, contain this ingredient. The "weird taste" is a result of the interaction of potassium with elements in your saliva (I know: Yummy!).

People have given salt a bad "rap". Sodium is an essential nutrient, and in small quantities, salt can't cause any harm, even to people with severe hypertension. What people don't realize is that in addition to direct flavoring properties, salt actually creates and enhances flavors. Because it dissolves so readily---in plain water, and in saliva---salt can act as a chemical liaison, on a molecular level. It transmits small electrical impulses from food (molecules) to your taste buds.

It takes only a tiny amount of salt added to foods, less than can be perceived directly, to augment the properties of the food. It's possible to maintain a healthy, negligible-sodium diet without omitting salt.

Answer 7

I have had to get off the salt, and found that after a while your palate cleans up and you begin to taste the food, let me say a carrot, is rather sweet tasting and delicious, and so are most other vegetables, what makes you think that salt is needed at all. I think it is an acquired habit. we do need the iodine, found in fish and seafood for the thyroid, not the salt. You will taste the flavor of the food in time and find it is much better than all that salt. When you have accomplished this, try a salted Potato chip, and you will understand, what tastes good . Use herbs onions garlic lemon, vinegar and there are so many other options if you must have something on your food.

Answer 8

Yes, there are. Jane's Crazy Mixed Up Salt, very good for things like salads, vegetables, etc. Morton's also puts out a salt substitute that is very good. Sea salt as already mentioned by many is another good alternative, less sodium than regular. I only use salt to cook with, never add it at the table. Also some of the Mrs. Dash's are also quite good, although not exactly salt but you get used to the flavors instead of the salt. I like the garlic one. Kind of like getting used to Diet soda instead of regular soda. Good luck.

Answer 9

I am on a no salt diet and I don't eat any salt at all. It was hard to get use to but now I don't miss salt at all. Foods natural flavors are really good when they get to shine all by themselves and not be covered up by salt. There isn't a good salt substitute so don't waste your money trying to find one. It isn't out there. Instead enhance your food with Mrs. Dash(there are a dozen or more different blends of Mrs Dash), I use garlic powder (not salt but powder), onion powder. I also love to put these two seasonings in and on things like scrambled eggs, spaghetti, soups, salads, pizza, etc. You will love them and use them on just about everything !! They are Chef Paul Prudhommes Herbal Pizza and Pasta Magic, and Durkee Grill creations Italian Herb !! And I use the last seasoning on more then just grilled meat. I use it in everything as well.

Answer 10

Unfortunately, salt is salt. It does a unique job in creating a flavor sensation in your mouth.

THAT SAID, you can reduce "sodium" without reducing table salt, by being choosy about what you eat. Many meats - particularly cured meats (pepperoni, hams, whatever) are just loaded with sodium, and many breads too. The fast food stuff is the worst. I can't even eat Domino's pizza any more or most frozen ones (taste aside) because I can just smell the sodium wafting off it it. They have OUTRAGEOUS amounts of sodium in them - check their label - and if you can skip most of these, whether hot pockets, frozen pizza, pepperoni, even ramen noodles are loaded - then the occasional sprinkle of salt on your chicken will be nothing in comparison. Cheap chinese food is also notorious for ridiculously high sodium levels.

So, don't worry about what you sprinkle (unless you're a glutton for salt), worry more about what's in the food already.

And hey, try a little pepper or wasabi for a taste change, if you want. For some stuff, it's great.

Answer 11

There's no good substitute for salt. Its flavor is unique (so much so, Roman soldiers were paid with salt ... which is where we get the word salary).

The best substitute for salt is to add more flavor to the food. You can do this a couple of ways. One is by adding more fat of some kind. Since you're looking for a salt alternative I'll presume that you are looking for a HEALTHY salt alternative.

The other option is to use more herbs and spices. Salt is a flavor enhancer. By using more of the good flavors, you can help overcome the lack of salt.