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What to Eat When craving salty chips?

You can also replace high-sodium, processed snacks with healthier choices. Nutrient-dense foods can often satisfy that "salty tooth," too—think: edamame, guacamole, savory oatmeal, or nuts.

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The age-old question: Are you a salty food or a sweet food person? There's a time and place for both (and don't even get us started on sweet-and-salty snacks!)—but there's something extra satisfying about the salty goodness of pretzels, popcorn, and potato chips, especially if your food preferences lean savory. It's not just french fries, dumplings, and bacon, either. Nutrient-dense foods can often satisfy that "salty tooth," too—think: edamame, guacamole, and pistachios. Whatever salty bite you're munching on, it can feel impossible to stop after just one. But how much is too much?

We're warned pretty often about the perils of consuming too much sugar, but seem to hear less about how to keep salt cravings and consumption in check. What's fueling your salty food pangs, are they hurting your health, and what can you do about it? We spoke to three registered dietitians, Elysia Cartlidge, MAN, RD, Brittany Poulson, MDA, RDN, CD, CDCES, and Jamie Lee McIntyre, MS, RDN CD-N, to get to the bottom of your hankering for salt and how to help moderate your sodium intake.

Olivia Barr

How much salt is OK to eat?

Sodium is an essential mineral and does have a rightful place in a balanced diet—but we need way less sodium than most of us consume in a day. Taking a look at the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for nutrients can help you figure out whether you're going overboard, or if there's some wiggle room in your eating habits. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that you consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. The American Heart Association agrees, but says that 1,500 milligrams or less per day is even more ideal. To put this into perspective, a 1-ounce bag of potato chips has approximately 150 milligrams of sodium, according to the USDA. In comparison, a tablespoon of peanut butter has about 69 milligrams of sodium, per the USDA. So, how does reality compare to these official nutritional recommendations? The CDC estimates that Americans consume an average of 3,400 milligrams of sodium daily, which is more than 1,000 milligrams over the recommended amount. If you're reaching for salty snacks on the regular, you may find yourself giving in to your salty desires more than your body really needs.

Why You Crave Salt

Most of the explanations for salt cravings are related to your environment or lifestyle, so if you feel like you can't control yourself around salty goodies, just know that you can do something about it.

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How do I stop craving junk food all the time?

1 Here are some helpful tips to help curb your cravings for junk food. Deal With Your Trigger Foods. Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman. ... Don't Skip Meals. ... Consider Whether It's Craving or Hunger. ... Drink Water or a Low Calorie Beverage. ... Go for a Walk. ... Get Enough Sleep. ... Manage Your Stress. ... Chew Gum or Hard Candy. More items... •

Cravings for junk foods can seem to come out of nowhere. One minute you feel satisfied and the next you feel like your whole body is begging for a peanut butter cup or bowl of ice cream. Of course, it’s ideal when you might crave apples, blueberries, or green beans because they’re low in calories and good for you. The problem is when you feel like you need something sweet, salty, or high in fat in order to be satisfied. At times, you might even crave all three at once. You can either fight junk food cravings or give in to the temptation. It's perfectly OK to allow yourself a treat every now and then, especially when you choose small portions that allow you to stay within your calorie requirement for the day. But when junk food cravings turn into binges, you run the risk of weight gain and you're overindulging in foods that just aren’t very good for you. Here are some helpful tips to help curb your cravings for junk food.

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