Are You Eating Too Much Salt?

Most people eat twice as much salt as the 1 teaspoon per day recommended by WHO, putting them at higher risk of heart disease and other medical conditions. As much as 70% of that salt is hidden within processed foods and condiments.

Salt is a seasoning that can flavour food and act as a preservative. It is an ingredient commonly added by food manufacturers to processed food products – a chief source of the world’s high salt intake today. More than 70% of the salt in modern day diet, in the US for example, has been found to be from packaged and prepared foods, not from the salt shaker at home.

If you have been eating processed foods regularly, after some time you may not realise that they are overly salty as your taste buds have become desensitised to excessive salt levels. The result: You expect a certain amount of salt. The food seems tasteless if you don’t have that much salt.

Salt is made up of about 60% chloride and 40% sodium. High-sodium diets can lead to raised blood pressure, increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases (strokes, hearts attacks, heart failure), gastric cancer, obesity, osteoporosis, Meniere’s disease, and kidney disease. According to the WHO, excessive sodium intake is responsible for about 1.89 million deaths each year.

Our body needs only a small amount of sodium. We should get about 1,500 milligrams of it every day. Sodium deficiency is extremely unlikely in healthy individuals. Sodium is found naturally in a variety of foods, such as milk, meat and shellfish. However, it is often found in high amounts in processed foods such as breads, processed meat and snack foods, as well as in condiments (e.g., soy and fish sauce). Sodium is also contained in sodium glutamate, a common food additive.

How can you reduce your sodium intake? WHO advises the following:

• Eat mostly fresh, minimally processed foods.
• Choose low-sodium products (less than 120mg/100g sodium).
• Cook with little or no added sodium/salt.
• Use herbs and spices to flavour food, rather than salt.
• Limit the use of commercial sauces, dressings and instant products.
• Limit the consumption of processed foods.
• Remove the saltshaker/container from the table.