POLOKWANE – One of the scariest things about hypertension is that about half of the people who have raised blood pressure don’t know about it because there are little to no symptoms experienced by individuals.
High blood pressure is a key risk factor for heart disease and the most important risk factor for stroke. Furthermore, it has been proven that a high salt intake is an established risk factor for increased blood pressure. South Africans consume too much salt, 6g to 11g per day, which is more than double the recommended amount.
We consume salt in one of three ways: salt occurring naturally in foods, salt added to food by us, and salt hidden in processed foods. Fortunately, in 2013, the minister of health signed legislation to make salt reduction in the food industry mandatory, helping to achieve the government’s target to reduce salt intake to less than 5g a day by 2020.
This makes South Africa the first country globally to legislate salt levels to help reduce the amount of salt that the public consumes from processed foods.
The target of reducing salt intake to less than 5g a day is equal to 2 000mg sodium (the way in which salt is indicated on the nutrition label on food packaging) or one level teaspoon of salt.
This includes all salt naturally occurring in foods, added by us, and hidden in foods by manufacturers. Research show that as much as 75% of the salt we eat is hidden in the foods that we buy.
For more information on how to reduce your salt intake visit your nearest dietitian.
Visit www.adsa.org to find registered dietitians in your area.
Visit https://www.worldactiononsalt.com/awarenessweek/ and https://www.heartfoundation.co.za/salt-watch for more information. Alternatively, have a look at my Facebook posts on my page: Anke van Waveren Registered dietitian.
We can all do our bit to #EatLessSalt.
