Ingredients: Salt

Just like trans-fat and high-fructose corn syrup before it, salt is suddenly the new "culprit," the next thing that must be eliminated from our diets. Recent issues of both TIME and Real Simple have featured articles on the ills of excess sodium intake, and the efforts by some agencies & activists to ban it entirely from restaurant kitchens.

The folks demanding salt's eradication aren't necessarily wrong: excess sodium contributes to high blood pressure, which can lead to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Plus, some of the worst food I've ever tasted has been laden with salt (think hotel room service or airplane food).

To reduce salt consumption, it pays to check the labels on processed foods in the grocery store. High sodium levels can be lurking in the most unexpected places, like store-bought breads, cereals, and rice. For example, check out Uncle Ben's Ready Rice: the Whole Grain Brown variety has only 15mg (1% of the RDA) of sodium per serving, while the Cajun Style has a whopping 980mg (41%) per serving!

Also, it can't be denied that salt is a chef's go-to ingredient to add flavor to almost any dish. But maybe we've gotten so accustomed to throwing salt on everything that we've forgotten about the other spices. Oregano, cumin, tarragon, cayenne pepper, and even plain old fresh ground black pepper can be just as (if not more) flavorful than salt. Fresh squeezed lemon & lime juice can also add a little zing. Other fun flavors to try in your recipes include garlic powder or roasted garlic, onion powder, and mustard. Check out some flavorful, low-sodium recipes here.

Bottom line: Sweet, sour, and spicy can be just as delicious as salty!