Extremely shocking way to reduce your salt intake

By Mark Waghorn via SWNS

Zapping your mouth with electrified cutlery can slash salt intake by almost a third, scientists have discovered.

The culinary utensil delivers a weak electric current to the tongue - boosting savouriness.

Excess salt is one of the main contributors to high blood pressure which can result in stroke or heart attack.

Lead author Yoshinobu Kaji, a master's student at Meiji University, said: "Many people consume around twice the salt intake standard recommended by the WHO.

"This standard cannot be met with a little effort in salt reduction, and a drastic solution is essential.

"This study is an important approach because it suggests that a 30 percent reduction in salt can be achieved by electrical stimulation."

About 2.5 million deaths each year could be prevented globally if individuals cut back their salt consumption to less than a teaspoon daily, say the World Health Organisation.

Now the Japanese team may have found a healthier way for people to enjoy flavor - while still adhering to a low-salt diet.

The device described in the journal Frontiers in Virtual Reality affects charged ions that make up sodium chloride to inhibit or enhance saltiness and other taste sensations.

After trying it out on themselves the researchers' experiments were carried out on 31 volunteers previously or currently on a low-salt diet.

Each participant tasted and rated several saltwater gel samples that had two different levels of saltiness.

Results showed electric stimulation enhanced the saltiness of the low-sodium sample - making it comparable to the 40 percent saltier control.

In other words, electrified chopsticks or other utensils could reduce salt intake by around a third without sacrificing saltiness.

More than 80 percent of subjects said they could tolerate the electric stimulation on a daily basis.

In a second test, the recruits consumed a low-salt miso soup. Many found it had a better mouthfeel and taste - suggesting the technique also affects savouriness.

The long-term goal is to develop a commercially available chopstick-shaped device for daily use by those following a low-salt diet or trying to reduce their intake.

The researchers are also investigating its applications in other fields, such as stimulating taste as part of a virtual reality experience.

Added Kaji: "In the future, for example, it may be possible to virtually reproduce the taste of food and drink, or to realize taste expressions that are difficult to achieve with conventional eating experiences."