Salt, All

Not everyone realizes that garlic salt is plain salt with garlic flavoring; regular stock cubes are over 50 percent salt; soy sauce is just liquid salt fermented with soybeans.

With regard to animal matter, many methods of conservation are acceptable. Canned oily fish (such as sardines) are, in nutritional terms, just as good as fresh. Just choose the versions that are preserved in olive oil, canola oil, or unsalted water. Smoked salmon or kipper are good, although watch out for high salt content.

Eliminate added salt in cooking; replace with herbs and flavoring like lemon juice.

What about condiments? It's been said that the only way to get a kid to eat his vegetables is to smother them in ketchup. If that is what works, then it is tolerable; a good quality ketchup is not such a bad condiment. The main drawback is the sugar content. Read the ingredients label and only choose the best— there are low-salt, low-sugar versions available. Better yet is to make it yourself.

With the Industrial Revolution going full-swing during the 19th century, cities grew to sizes never before seen in history. Chicago's population increased 17-fold from 30,000 in 1850 to 500,000 in 1870. New York City grew 25 times bigger, from 60,000 in 1800 to 1.5 million in 1870. In contrast, Babylon at the time of the Biblical exodus (1447 B .C .) was only about 60,000 total. Feeding populations in these enormous agglomerations required novel methods. It was quite impossible to get most fresh foods to them in the normal way. Food had to be "preserved,"— that is, processed in a way that stopped it from going bad. Meat and fish were a particular problem but there were tried-and-true methods to con­ serve it: salting and smoking. Salt beef, bacon, cured ham, kippered herring, and bologna were just a few examples that took over the diet of city dwellers, replacing their fresh equivalent.

Our [Savanna model] modified groupings then are: Grains; Vegetables (Starchy); Vegetables (Non-Starchy); Fruits; Milk and Dairy; Meat, Fish, Eggs, and Poultry; Dry Beans; Nuts; Fats and Oils; Sugars and Sweeteners; Salt and Sodium; and Beverages.