If you're working to lower your blood pressure, your doctor has probably told you to cut back on the salt. With new approaches to seasoning -- and some cupboard cleaning -- you can reduce salt consumption and still have flavorful foods. Start by tossing out the table salt and any salt seasonings such as garlic, onion and celery salts. Don't forget to check the lemon pepper, which often has added salt. It's a good time to pass on "light salt" products too, such as bouillon cubes, meat tenderizers, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, teriyaki sauce, oyster sauces, fish sauce and miso. Packaged taco, gravy, salad dressing, soup and chili mixes also can be high in sodium. Stock your cupboard with garlic and onion powders, dry mustard and plain black pepper. Keep fresh garlic, onion and herbs on hand as well as lemon juice or fresh lemon, vinegar and salt-free seasoning blends. Replace condiments -- ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce -- with salt-free varieties. Use regular table wine instead of cooking wine, which has added salt. Then, get creative. Flavor meats and vegetables with combinations of herbs with oil, vinegar, lemon juice or table wine. Let the mixture sit for an hour before brushing it on food as it cooks. Or, brush meat with oil, sprinkle on fresh herbs and refrigerate an hour before cooking. On poultry, consider paprika, fresh mushrooms, thyme, sage, parsley, dill, cilantro, lemon, and rosemary. Dry mustard, paprika, curry, bay leaf, lemon juice, fresh mushrooms, cilantro, dill, tarragon, and marjoram can spice up your fish. And beef can be tasty without salt using dry mustard, marjoram, nutmeg, onion, garlic, sage, thyme, pepper, bay leaf, fresh mushrooms, rosemary, balsamic vinegar, and fresh ground horseradish. Vinegar is an incredible medicine in its own right, with long lists of healing powers credited to its name. It comes to us from ancient times. Vinegar is mentioned several times in the Bible. Hippocrates prescribed the drinking of vinegar for his patients in ancient Greece. Columbus had barrels of vinegar on his ships for the prevention of scurvy. In fact, ancient civilizations as far back as the Sumerians used vinegar as a condiment, a preservative, a medicine, an anti-biotic and a detergent. It is antibacterial and anti-fungal and gives the immune system a good boost. As a high potassium electrolyte balancer, it remineralizes the body and helps normalize the blood’s acid/alkaline balance. Vinegar is proving most beneficial to people with arthritis because it breaks down calcium deposits in the joints while supplying minerals to the bones. Here are just a few of its other benefits: * Reduces cholesterol (the dangerous LDL cholesterol type) * Regulates the water content in the cells and body * Reduces water retention in the body * Removes excess sodium from the body * Helps regulate blood pressure * Assists in preventing circulatory problems * Helps with diminishing premature calcification of the arteries * Helps increase concentration and memory * Assists in blood circulation