Don’t dare take salt week with a pinch of salt!
ON THE back of World Salt Awareness Week, social media and news wires were abuzz with information on salt and health.
In an interview with POST
Dr Leon Naidoo, who specialises as a pulmonologist and is a critical care practitioner based at Netcare Alberlito Hospital, said the community should not take health matters related to this awareness drive with a pinch of salt.
“The annual Salt Awareness Week campaign helps raise public awareness of the damaging effect of too much salt to our health,” he said.
“The international campaign has been running for 11 years, each year with a different theme. The annual campaign is a chance to talk directly to the general public, shining a light on the hidden salt in our favourite food products and encouraging those who don’t want their food and their children’s food laden with unnecessary salt to take action. The aim is to encourage the public to add less salt to their food while cooking or at the table.
“This is especially important in the South African context as cardiovascular disease remains one of the highest causes of local and global morbidity and deaths.
“The importance of incorrect salt balance in the body (too much or too little) cannot be overemphasised. Awareness and health thereof is so vital that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has set up forums and task teams globally to address the matter.”
He said the biggest risk area associated with salt was related to blood pressure.
“Blood pressure, and therefore the risk of having a stroke or heart attack, significantly increases with age. As you get older it is important to keep salt intake as normal as possible to help ensure your blood pressure stays within a healthy range,” he said.
“Furthermore, with increasing age there is also an increased salt sensitivity, meaning that salt has a greater effect on blood pressure.
“Therefore, a reduction in salt is particularly important for older people even if they do not have high blood pressure. However, this reduction should always be done after consultation with your doctor and nutritionist as a salt deficiency can be just as detrimental.”
Nazeia Sayed, a registered dietitian and an Association for Dietetics in South Africa spokesperson, explained how the salt in our diets affected our bodies.
“We need salt (sodium) in our bodies – it is a mineral necessary for our nerves and muscles to function and it helps maintain blood pressure in our body. The
problem is that we have way too much sodium in our diets.”
Touching on the biggest risk factors and where we often go wrong with our salt intake, Sayed said: “A lot of sodium (salt) comes from the foods we eat every day like breads, ready-to-eat cereals, salty snacks and other processed foods (like polony) and we also use salty condiments to prepare our meals, and then we also add salt when cooking and at the table – so we get a lot more sodium than we need!
“Hypertension (raised blood pressure) is a silent killer in South Africa and high salt intakes make some of us more susceptible to a higher blood pressure. High salt intakes also mean that our
bodies retain more fluid, so our heart has to work harder and our kidneys have to work harder.”
Sayed said the WHO had applauded the South African government’s efforts to reduce salt intakes in our population.
“We have already had regulations to reduce the salt content of commonly eaten foodstuffs (like bread and stock cubes). These came into effect in June 2016 and the second-stage reduction comes into effect in June this year.”
Sayed’s basic tips to cut down on your salt intake:
Cut down on processed foods, salty snacks and fast foods, which often contain
high amounts of salt.
Use herbs and spices to make your food tasty so you need less salt.
Taste your food before adding salt. Don’t keep a salt shaker on the dining table – easy access to salt just encourages you to add more.
Your taste buds can adjust to the taste of food with less salt, so gradually decrease the salt you add when cooking.
Eat more fruit and vegetables, this gives your body potassium, which assists in excreting excess sodium from the body.
Read food labels to become aware of how much sodium the foods you eat contain and choose low sodium options where available.