How To Reduce Salt Intake?

Salt is one substance that makes our food tasty. Though we know that too much salt will be bad for our health, the amount of salt taken by most of us does exceed our daily requirement either knowingly or unknowingly.

It is already known that high salt intake is linked to hypertension (high blood pressure), a risk factor for heart attack and stroke. A recent study published in the British Medical Journal has even quantified the harm that salt does. People who cut down on salt in their diet may reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 25 percent over the following 10 to 15 years. The risk of dying from cardiovascular disease went down by 20 percent. The participants in the study reduced their salt intake from 10 g to 7 g per day.

Our body require a target of 6 g or a teaspoon a day. Sodium is essential for cell function as it maintains the electrolyte balance in the body, which regulates the flow of fluids such as water and blood. Unfortunately, people around the world eat on average of 10 to 15 g of salt per day.

A global group established in 2005 known as World Action on Salt and Health (Wash) stated that cutting one's salt intake by 6 g would prevent 5.2 million incidents of cardiovascular disease, half of which are fatal.

Salt contains sodium chloride: every 6 g of salt contains 2000 mg of sodium. It is this sodium that is bad for our health.

By making smart packaged or processed food choices, you can effectively lower your daily salt intake. Before you purchase, study the label on the products by looking out specifically for salt per 100 g.

To find out how much salt you are eating in packaged foods which often label just the sodium content, simply multiply the sodium amount by 2.5. Salt content is high if there is more than 1.5 g of salt per 100 g, or 0.6 g of sodium. Salt content is low if there is 0.3 g of salt or less per 100 g, or 0.1 g of sodium. If the amount of salt per 100 g is somewhere between these 2 amounts, then there is a medium level of salt.

Remember, if you are not careful by choosing the wrong food, you could easily consume the 6 g of salt with just one meal!

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