Watch your salt intake

The next time you flavour your food with salt, buy groceries or eat at a restaurant consider that you could be increasing your chances of having high blood pressure, a major risk for heart disease and strokes if you consume more that five grams of salt or one teaspoon a day.

Adults should consume less than 2 000mg of sodium, or 5g of salt, and at least 3 510mg of potassium per day - approximately ten average sized bananas, according to new guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO)1.

A person with either elevated sodium and low potassium levels could be at risk of raised blood pressure which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke - the number one cause of death and disability globally, says Dr Francesco Branca, Director of WHO's Department of Nutrition for Health and Development.

Excessive salt intake has also been associated with various cancers, kidney failure, and hypertension.

According to Professor Prof Melvyn Freeman, Cluster manager: Non-communicable diseases at Department of Health, 6.3 million people in South Africa are estimated to suffer form high blood pressure and high salt intakes are estimated to cause a third of all hypertension cases2.

As part of the Government Employees Medical Scheme's (GEMS') effort to educate our current and future members on a range of healthcare topics, this article focuses on salt awareness.

Salt Awareness Week takes place from Monday 11th - Sunday 17th March 2013.

Currently most people consume too much sodium and not enough potassium, says WHO.

Table salt is 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride and is found in a variety of foods. Sea and table salt have the same basic nutritional value, despite the fact that sea salt is often marketed as a more natural and healthy alternative3.

Currently South Africans exceed the daily-recommended dose for salt by 4g to 5g, warns Prof Freeman. A large portion of this salt is coming from the food people buy, he adds.

Reducing your daily salt intake

"Most salt intakes are from processed foods rather than added (discretionary) salt and that the aim is to reduce salt intake to 5g per day," he observes.

Therefore to ensure you do not consume more than the daily recommended dose of five grams of salt or sodium and get enough potassium in your diet you should check the labelling on the food you buy and request that restaurants alert you to how much salt they added to your food.

A report from Colorado State University in America4 also provides these useful suggestions for reducing your salt intake:

• Cover up some of the holes on the salt shaker or take it off the table. Learn to enjoy food's natural taste;
• Use more fresh fruit, vegetables and meat. The more processed the food is, the more sodium it may contain;
• Use canola oil or olive oil instead of butter or margarine in cooking;
• Season foods with herbs and spices rather than salt;
• Do not use salt substitutes, especially those that contain potassium, without first talking to your doctor;
• Plan meals that contain less sodium. Try new recipes that use less salt and sodium-containing ingredients. Adjust your own recipes by reducing such ingredients a little at a time. Don't be fooled by recipes that have little or no salt added but call for ingredients like soups, bouillon cubes or condiments that do;
• Cut back on salt used in cooking pasta, rice, noodles, vegetables and hot cereals;
• Taste your food before you salt it. If, after tasting your food, you must salt it, try one shake instead of two.

Foods with high amounts of sodium/ potassium

Sodium is found naturally in a variety of foods, reveals WHO, "including milk and cream (approximately 50mg of sodium per 100g) and eggs (approximately 80mg/100g). It is also found, in much higher amounts, in processed foods, such as bread (approximately 250mg/100g), processed meats like bacon (approximately 1 500mg/100g), snack foods such as pretzels, cheese puffs and popcorn (approximately 1 500 mg/100g), as well as in condiments such as soy sauce (approximately 7 000 mg/100g), and bouillon or stock cubes (approximately 20 000mg/100g).

"Potassium-rich foods include: beans and peas (approximately 1 300mg of potassium per 100g), nuts (approximately 600mg/100g), vegetables such as spinach, cabbage and parsley (approximately 550mg/100g) and fruits such as bananas, papayas and dates (approximately 300mg/100g). Processing reduces the amount of potassium in many food products".

Government reacts

In light of the dangers associated with excessive salt intake, the Department of Health5 last year announced draft regulation for sodium reduction in products, such as bread, breakfast cereals, snacks, processed meat, dry soups/gravy powders and instant noodles.

As Francis Bacon, an English philosopher, once said ‘knowledge is power'. Now that you know the risks associated with high intakes of salt, the next time you add it to your food make sure you have not exceeded your daily allowance.

References
1. World Health Organisation
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2013/salt_potassium_20130131/en/
2. Health Minister's proposed laws to restrict salt welcomed
http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/8ee8b8804a383a4b9a31de3c7b843e8e/Health-Minister%E2%80%99s-proposed-laws-to-restrict-salt-welcomed--20120219
3. What's the difference between sea salt and table salt?
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sea-salt/AN01142
4. Colorado State University: Sodium in the Diet
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09354.html  
5. FOODSTUFFS, COSMETICS AND DISINFECTANTS ACT, 1972 (ACT 54 OF 1972)
http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=170455