PASS THE SALT, PLEASE...
Maybe you should think again.
Do you actually know how much salt you have eaten today?
What about yesterday?
If you don't know you'd be wise to know in the future as it could just save your life.
Too much salt pushes up your blood pressure, and consequently your risk of heart attack, stroke and kidney disease.
Other research suggests that salt puts you more at risk of diabetes, cataracts, brittle bones, cancer, dementia, as well as untimely death.
Currently, the daily recommended level for adults and children above the age of 11 is below 6g of salt (or 2,4g of the sodium it contains) - little more than a heaped teaspoon. Babies below six months should have less than 1g of salt a day.
In Britain, government watchdogs say half the population - around 26 million people - eat more than the safe limit. Around 2,3 million take in more than 18g on any given day, which is about three and a half heaped teaspoons.
In Western countries, if the skyrocketing incidence of high blood pressure and heart disease is anything to go by, we also eat too much salt and not just because we are too liberal with the salt cellar.
- Specialists point at the food industry and the hidden salt it uses to make its processed food taste better and last longer.
They say about 80% of the salt in our diet actually comes from processed foods
These include obvious ones like potato chips, sausages, pies and sauces, and those you would least expect to have a lot of salt like breakfast cereals, fizzy drinks, cakes, biscuits and puddings.
Food industry is poisoning consumers...
In the UK, specialists say the food industry is effectively "poisoning millions of consumers, killing around 220 000 people each year".
South Africans and Americans are also overly reliant upon preserved, processed foods.
Some people say the risks of salt in our food are exaggerated and politicised and should literally be taken with a pinch of salt.
Not surprisingly, many of them are to be found within the heart of powerful vested interests in the food industry.
The American Salt Institute's website says you really only need to restrict your salt intake if you are hypertensive.
For the "normotensive population" (normal blood pressure), restriction of salt intake is not recommended as there is insufficient incidence of hypertension.
The site quotes an award-winning investigative science reporter as saying that decades of intensive research suggests that "the true benefits of avoiding salt are small or nonexistent and researchers believing they have detected such benefits have been deluded by the confounding of other variables".
High salt intake = high prevalence of hypertension
Dr Hattie Wright, senior lecturer of North West University's School for Nutrition and Consumer Science, says countries with a high salt consumption are shown to have a high prevalence of hypertension and stroke.
The relationship between salt consumption and blood pressure is "stronger in older people, those with a family history of hypertension, and higher blood pressures at baseline". She says the shows that blood pressure is related to dietary sodium intake in "salt-sensitive" hypertension.
Risk factors include race (Black people are most at risk), obesity, age, diabetes and renal dysfunction.
Others say there is no doubt about the risks, and we would all benefit from eating less salt.
After all we eat 10 times more salt than our Stone Age ancestors ate, and concerns about salt are not new.
Way back in 2 500BC Chinese physicians warned patients that too much salt in their food would harden their "pulse".
Doctors may tell you to eat more salt in your food if you happen to have very low blood pressure.
For the rest, it is irresponsible to say you don't need to watch your salt intake just because your blood pressure is normal.
WHAT IS SALT?
Salt and sodium are often used interchangeably. Salt's chemical name is sodium chloride. Sodium is the component of salt that gives it its characteristic taste. Chloride is the component used as a source of chlorine for chemical manufacturing, to keep drinking and pool water clean and safe.
WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?
All salt comes from the sea at some point, either from an existing ocean or a dried up sea that has become a salt mine or pans. Salt is not the only source of sodium. Sodium is also found in additives including sodium nitrite, sodium bicarbonate and monosodium glutamate.
WHAT DOES IT DO?
The body needs sodium to function normally. Sodium is the main component of the body's extracellular fluids and helps to carry nutrients into the cells and to regulate blood pressure and fluid volume.
HOW CAN IT HARM YOU?
The theory is that when there is too much sodium, the body responds by absorbing lots of fluid from the muscles and organs into the bloodstream.
The arterial system is closed and can accommodate a fixed volume of blood or fluid. An excess of fluid forces the heart to work overtime to pump blood around the body.
This pushes up blood pressure and thereafter the risk of heart and other problems.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT?
Check labels on all processed foods to see how much sodium they contain. More than 0.5 sodium (1.25g salt) is a lot; less than 0.1g (0.25g salt) is little.
KEEP A CHECK ON YOUR DAILY INTAKE
Be sparing with sauces, especially soy sauce, as it is usually very high.
Cut down on salty snacks such as potato chips. Go for low-salt snacks like dried fruit, sticks of vegetables and unsalted nuts instead.
Eat less heavily salted foods such as bacon, cheese, pickles, smoked fish and many ready-prepared meals.
Choose canned vegetables and pulses marked "no added salt".
Make your own stock or choose lower salt stick cubes. Stock cubes tend to be high in salt.
Add less salt to cooking. Use herbs and spices to add flavour to cooking, instead of salt.
Get out of the habit of adding salt at the table; taste your food first.
Include fresh foods in your diet, particularly fruit and vegetables. Many are low in salt and fat, high in fibre and rich in anti-oxidants.
The sodium content of some common foods are:
These values are a guide for your information only and are in units of
mg of sodium per 100g per portion of food.
(3,5 oz)
Check the nutritional values of the food you are buying or eating on the product packaging.
Apple, raw unpeeled 1
Apple juice, bottled 1
Applesauce, sweetened 2
Asparagus, cooked 1 (regular canned 236)
Avocado 4
Bacon, cooked 1021
Bacon, canadian 2500
Baking powder 11,000
Banana 1
Barly, pearled 3
Beans, Lima 1 (regular canned 236)
Beans, snap green, cooked 4 (regular canned 236)
Beans, white common, cooked 7
Beans, canned with pork and tomato sauce 463
Bean sprouts, cooked 4
Beef, roasted broiled or stewed 60
Beef, corned 1,740
Beef hash, canned 540
Beef, dried 4,300
Beef hamburger 47
Beef pie or stew, commercial 400
Beets, cooked 43 (regular canned 236)
Beverages, beer 7
Beverages, liquor 1 (avoid margaritas with salt!)
Beverages, wine 5
Beverage, soda 0 to 100 (check can)
Beverage, fruit drink 0
Beverage, water 0
Biscuits 630
Blackberries 1
Bluefish, cooked 104
Bouillon cubes 24,000
Bread 300 to 500
Broccoli, cooked 10
Brussels sprouts, cooked 10
Butter, salted 826 (unsalted - less than 10)
Cabbage 20
Cakes 100 to 300
Candy, caramels, fudge 200
Candy, hard, marshmallow, peanut brittle 30
Cantaloupe 12
Carrots 40 (regular canned 236)
Cashews, unsalted 15
Cauliflower 10
Celery, raw 126 (cooked 88)
Cereals bran, wheat, crude 9
Cereals, commercial 700 to 1100
Cereal, Corn grits 1
Cereal, Cornmeal 1
Cereal, Farina, dry 2 (cooked salted or instant 160)
Cereal, Oatmeal, dry 2 (cooked salted 218)
Cereal, Rice flakes 987
Cereal, wheat flakes 1000
Cereal, wheat, puffed 4
Cereal, wheat, shredded 3
Cheese, cheddar 620
Cheese, processed 1189
Cheese, cottage 406
Cheese, cream 296
Cheese, Mozzarella 373
Cheese, Parmesan 1,862
Cheese, Swiss 260
Cherries, Raw 2
Chicken, cooked, without skin 60 to 80
Chicken pot pie, commercial 411
Chickpeas, dry 8
Chicory 7
Chili con carne, canned with beans 531
Chili powder with seasonings 1574
Chocolate, plain
