Who would have thought that sweet licorice is saltier than salty licorice? And did you know that too little salt is just as harmful as too much salt? We have many more fun facts about salt!
85% of adult Dutch people consume too much salt on a daily basis.
Did you know that you don't need a sports drink if you exercise for one to one and a half hours in a row? Only water is then enough. On a very hot day or if you are going to do a longer run or spinning session, it is smart to supplement your deficiencies with extra minerals.
Read also: ‘7 things you can use salt for‘
In the past, salt was so precious that Roman soldiers were paid their wages in it. They received the so-called salarium, from which the word 'salary' is derived.
The recommended amount of salt is 6 grams per day, but we easily spoon in 9 grams of salt daily.
At a certain concentration of salt and sugar in your food you are almost unstoppable. A signal goes to the brain that encourages you and makes you feel good. This lasts as long as you eat, so you get a kind of bottoming out:you have to finish it. Chips, processed cocktail nuts, candy and biscuits are specially produced for this eating factor.
A salt surplus can lead to brittle bones and osteoporosis. How? When you pass sodium through your stool, your body gets rid of it by using calcium – the main source of strong bones. You can prevent a deficiency of this through your diet:the biggest calcium bombs are milk, cheese, salmon, broccoli, apricots, nuts and tofu.
Too little salt is just as bad for you as too much:it is a libido killer and causes insulin resistance. The latter is a sign of diabetes mellitus or metabolic disease. But you will not quickly run out of salt:with a healthy and varied diet you will be fine.
80% of our salt consumption does not come from the salt shaker, but is, for example, in bread, breakfast cereals, ready-to-use sauces or takeaway meals. We sprinkle 15% on our food ourselves:9 percent while cooking and 6 percent at the table.
Sweet licorice contains more salt than salty ones. The sugar suppresses the salt content, so more is needed.
