Do you often sprinkle an extra pinch of salt on top of your food to enhance the salty taste? Research has proven that it can be harmful for you. Just like sugar, the amount of salt we consume every day has an impact on our overall health. The WHO recommends limiting daily salt intake to less than 5 grams per person – about a teaspoon. However, globally we are much more at risk of high blood pressure and heart diseases. Japanese researchers have come up with an interesting and eclectic solution. They’ve devised a pair of electric chopsticks that can enhance the salty flavor in your food and help lower your daily sodium intake.
Researchers in Japan develop electric chopsticks to enhance salty taste https://t.co/docRWRZLPOpic.twitter.com/T5Jszpj8bC— Reuters (@Reuters) April 19, 2022
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The technology is being developed by Professor Homi Miyashita of Meiji University and beverage maker Kirin Holdings Co. Miyashita has developed a likeable television screen before. Electric chopsticks amp up the flavor using electrical simulation and a minicomputer worn on a wristband. A weak electric current is generated to transfer sodium ions from the food to the mouth where they create the feeling of saltiness. The salty taste can be increased up to 1.5 times with this device.
development of these Lightning Chopsticks are especially important in Asian countries such as Japan, where people regularly consume large amounts of salt. The Japanese diet places an emphasis on the salty taste profile, thus exceeding the recommended dietary allowance of salt by at least twice which leads to various diseases such as blood pressure and stroke. “To prevent these diseases, we need to reduce the amount of salt we consume,” said Kirin researcher Ai Sato. “If we try to avoid taking less salt In the traditional way, we would need to bear the pain of cutting our favorite foods out of our diet or eating bland foods.”
Electric chopsticks may soon be commercialized and will hit the market only by 2023. What did you think of this innovation? Tell us in the comments below.