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Kakka Idhayam Kakka'
A recent WHO report issued international guidelines on recommended healthy levels of salt intake for different populations. The committee reported that reducing salt intake would be a cost effective way to reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure directly and reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke indirectly. The report urges governments around the world to reduce consumption of sodium to less than 2 gm per day for each person.
Common salt is chemically called Sodium Chloride (NaCl2). About 2.5 gm of table salt contains one gm of Sodium. This would mean that about 5 gm of table salt is the current recommended level of consumption per day. According to a report published from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the year 2000, the average intake of salt in India was 10 gm per day for each person. This would amount to about 4 gm of Sodium. The current recommendations suggest reducing this consumption by half.
A recent research study conducted by researchers at Harvard Medical School and published in the recent edition of the British Medical Journal, found that reducing salt intake by 25% reduced the risk of developing heart disease by 25% and reduced the chance of death from heart disease by 20%.
Sodium is known to affect blood pressure levels, particularly in people with high blood pressure. Previous research studies had shown reduction in blood pressure levels when salt consumption was reduced. Now, a reduction in heart disease and stroke has also been demonstrated. In 2002 WHO estimated that globally about 62% of strokes and about 50% of heart attacks were attributable to high blood pressure. Reducing salt intake therefore has a significant contribution to make in reducing the heart disease and also strokes.
While reducing salt intake may be beneficial from the point of view of reducing heart attacks and strokes, one has to be aware of one major problem with salt reduction. In many countries fortification of salt with iodine and fluoride are carried out to provide the necessary daily allowance for the consumers. In India iodized salt provides the iodine supplementation that reduces thyroid disorders in children and adults. When reducing salt intake one has to be careful about not reducing the iodine intake significantly. Consumption of certain sea food and other food sources can provide additional iodine sources. New dietary policies may be required to adjust iodine fortification in order to comply with the recommended daily allowances for both salt and iodine.
Currently, the amount of processed foods consumed in India is very small compared to that in the Westernised world. This is important because, processed foods are a rich source of salt and when lifestyle necessitates its use, curtailing salt intake can be difficult. In India, at least for now, the amount of salt consumed is largely in the hands of the person cooking the food for the family. Providing widespread education to the masses is essential to alter the cooking habits.
In the major Indian cities, the use of processed food is bound to increase in the future, as the flourishing economy forces lifestyle changes on people. In such a situation, getting an early education of the hazards of excess salt intake can only be of help.
Click here for this book 'Kakka
Kakka Idhayam Kakka'
Dr G Balachander
Cardiologist
Illinois, USA
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