SA’s salt intake is still too high to be healthy

SOUTH Africans who consume two or three times the recommended daily allowance of salt, which is 5g a day, have been urged to dial it down.

High salt consumption is a key factor in the development of hypertension, which is the most common reason for South Africans attending primary health care and also the most common diagnosis (13.1%) in South Africa.

This is according to the Professional Provident Society (PPS), a multidisciplinary international group of graduate professionals.

Dr Dominique Stott, head of executive of medical standards and services at PPS, said an increase in urbanisation of population groups and an increased availability and low cost of convenience foods was one reason for high salt usage.

According to Stott, the easiest way to reduce salt intake is to cut down on processed foods as they contain significant amounts of salt, for both flavouring and preserving food.

“Processed meats such as bacon and salami, canned and pickled foods, bottled sauces and cereals contain large amounts of hidden salt labelled as sodium.

“Salt is contained naturally in milk, meat and shellfish, but the amount is increased dramatically when food is processed,” she said.

Stott said pork contained only 63mg sodium per 100g, but bacon contained 1 480mg per 100g. While a potato contained only 7mg of salt, a small pack of potato crisps contained 800mg.

While bodies need salt to function optimally, it is recommended that the daily salt intake should not exceed the equivalent of about one teaspoon (5g) a day.

“It is also important that people learn how to read food labels properly in order to make good food choices. It is advisable that at least 80% of one’s diet should be dominated by fresh, home-cooked food as this will also assist in reducing sodium intake.”

Stott said too much salt could overload the kidneys while too little could affect the sodium and water balance in the kidneys. It was “almost impossible” to not get enough salt on a daily basis.

“When it comes to life insurance, insurers take current health factors such as the presence or likelihood of developing lifestyle-related diseases, like diabetes and high blood pressure, into consideration when determining a client’s risk profile.” — TMG