Taking smaller pinches of salt could cut down on deaths in SA

RESEARCHERS say reducing salt intake can prevent 7 400 cardiovascular disease deaths annually, and that bread and margarine have the highest salt content.

Soup powders and seasoning follow.

Their research paper published in the September issue of the South African Medical Journal was a collaborative effort between academic institutions in SA.

The scientists measured the salt excreted in urine samples of a representative sample. They found a direct relationship between high salt intake and high blood pressure, which is a precursor to heart disease and a stroke.

The World Health Organisation recommends a daily salt intake of 4g to 6g per day but the average South African consumes 8.1g.

“When we looked at which foods contributed to high salt consumption, we found that bread had the highest salt content. We also found that the amount of salt in bread had increased over the years,” said Krisela Steyn, who co-authored the paper.

Also among the biggest contributors were soup powders, seasoning and margarine. Once they found where the salt came from, the scientists then asked if the salt came from people adding salt to their food or from pre-prepared foods.

Steyn said that in European countries 15 to 20 percent of salt intake came from people adding salt. It was, therefore, easier to work with food production companies to reduce salt content in produced foods.

The researchers used a formula to calculate the potential impact of reducing salt. They found that by reducing salt intake, the number of cardiovascular disease deaths could be reduced with 7 400 non-fatal strokes cut by as much as 4 300 per year. This, they said, would equate to a total annual saving of R300 million.

“Reducing the sodium content of bread is of greatest importance, with 80 percent of estimated cost saving stemming from this alone,” the scientists said.

In SA as much as 45 percent of salt intake came from addition during cooking and eating.

“It is essential that we teach people to use less salt,” said Steyn, who is assistant director of the Chronic Disease Initiative in Africa. “The deaths we see happen prematurely.”

Steyn said the best way to decrease salt content was to do it gradually.

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s spokesman, Fidel Hadebe, welcomed the findings as “in line with our plans to reduce the salt content in food”.

For more information: www.doh.gov.za.mlungisi.mthe mbu@inl.co.za