# Salt and over eating. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-over-eating/470762 "2008-11-02T21:03:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-over-eating/470762/21 "2008-11-04T15:14:38Z")
My husband and I have wondered in the past what Applebees does to their steaks. I too am quite familiar with steak, and that, sir, was like no steak I have ever had before. For us it was the texture - steak has a particular texture, and their steak was far too tender. Not extremely good cut of meat tender (which there is no way in hell we got at Applebees) but suspiciously, “what have you done to this meat?” tender. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-over-eating/470762/22 "2008-11-04T18:04:13Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Their baked potatoes must be dipped in rock salt (one can see the crystals on the skin). A lot of places do this. The salt helps the potatoes bake faster. Personally, I love licking the salt off the potatoes. Even when my levels are good, I can’t resist rock salt…luckily the hypothyroidism keeps my BP very low. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-over-eating/470762/23 "2008-11-04T21:34:25Z")
I am a salt-fiend who salts even odd things, like grilled cheese sandwiches, that other people wouldn’t. I salt everything. I love salt. It’s truly an addiction. I am a slim 30 year old female with perfect blood pressure. Among people I know with a weight problem, none of them salt their food as much as I do. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-over-eating/470762/24 "2008-11-05T03:23:35Z")
Slim male, late 30’s. I never put extra salt on my food, and haven’t done so since I was a little kid. Your body only needs a small amount, and I figure those needs get met by what’s already in the pre-made foods or sauces I eat. It’s interesting just how much water the extra salt can cause you to retain: Several months back I switched from buying my lunch at the local canteen (which used a lot of salt in their flavorings and preservatives) to bringing one from home made from fresh foods. The calorie content wasn’t much different, but I dropped about 3kg in only a couple of weeks. > [@Duckster](#): > > I ain’t looking back. That’s my Lot about them. heh ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-over-eating/470762/25 "2008-11-05T03:37:50Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Last weekend we went to Applebees for dinner. I cannot remember when it was the last time we ate there. We each had a desire for their french onion soup. (Yeah, we both know about the salt. That’s not the story here.) > > We ordered the two fer $20 meal share. Mine was the house steak. Now, I believe I know steak. I’ve eaten steak in some of the best steak places around, as well as some real dumps. I’ve been to bar-b-ques, family, friends and catered gatherings. I’ve cooked my fair share indoors and out, grilled, fried, etc. I’ve experimented. Grilled it naked, and with various sauces. I’ve been around the block with it, and then some. > > We don’t use salt at home. It’s not even in the house. We get more than enough salt in our diets from some of the foods we eat. In fact, we really read the food labels for calories, food additives, fat, nutrition. And salt. > > It is my firm belief Applebees uses salt liberally in their steak, not for flavor enhancement but to increase their income. I bet if I boiled the steak dry they served me (yup, right there on the table) it would be covered in salt crystals. Their baked potatoes must be dipped in rock salt (one can see the crystals on the skin). > > I have no plans to eat an Applebees steak ever again. We’re now looking for a french onion soup recipe to make it at home, minus the salt. I think Applebees has lost two customers forever. > > I ain’t looking back. That’s my Lot about them. Try Julia Child’s recipe. It’s straight-up French, and wonderfully delicious. And easy. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2008, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-over-eating/470762/26 "2008-11-05T10:52:38Z")
In some cases, it may be because if part of the reason that a person is overweight is indulgence in (notoriously over-salted) processed food, this would increase their salty fandom. ---
**Author:** ![Incref](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@Incref](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incref)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2008, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-over-eating/470762/27 "2008-11-06T07:05:21Z")
I LOVE salt! I salt everything savory! I like to leave a little pile of salt to one side of my plate re-salt as required through the meal. I decided during high school that if I was ever to write an autobiography it would be titled ‘Confessions of a Teenage Salt Addict’. I recently met someone who loves salt as much as me, we salted with flourish and joy together. I am a woman 5’9, 130lbs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salt-and-over-eating/470762.md?page=1)