As someone who occassionally suffers from high blood pressure, I know how important it is for me to lower my salt intake. The doctor told me so, as if I need another reminder. The problem is, I’ve always loved salty foods – adobo, fish sauce with sinigang, or soy sauce in almost every grilled or fried fish or meat. No-salt foods, evem low-sodium ones, are bland, unsatisfying, and depressing. I don’t think I can ever live with it. I’d rather be a semi-vegetarian (which basically means I’m planning to have veggies in a majority of my meals but I’ll still have meat whenever craving sets in). To me, salty equates to flavor and good taste.

But, really, the doctor is right. Avoiding salty foods as a lifestyle will have a dramatic impact on the risk of developing hypertension or heart disease. I’ve read there are no salt seasonings available in the marklet, so maybe I can try that. Could be a good start in practicing healthy cooking and eating. I’m thinking maybe if I’ll manage to psyche myself enough and get used to to taste of less-salty foods, then it will eventually be like a habit, sort of like reprogramming my tastebuds.

There’s a Web site that sells no salt (and no sugar) seasonings, nosaltnosugar.com. They even have recipes and health articles there. It all looks promising that I might just be tempted to look for a local equivalent.