Excessive sodium intake can be hazardous to Health

Salt - An important ingredient that adds taste to the food, but harmful to your health, when abused. Excessive salt in foods can lead to more sodium intake and can lead to blood pressure, because sodium holds back excess fluid in the body, thus creating an added burden on the heart. This can increase your risk of stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, osteoporosis and stomach cancer. Kidneys regulate sodium levels in the body. 

Salt is a chemical compound (electrolyte) made up of sodium and chloride. Sodium makes up 40 percent of salt. It is commonly used to preserve and flavor foods, and the main source of sodium in our diet. Sea salt, rock salt, and kosher salt all contain around 40 percent sodium by weight. 

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends a maximum intake of no more than 2.3 grams (g) or 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium a day, or around 1 teaspoon, and preferably no more than 1,500 mg. 

Hence, it’s important to watch the foods you eat, the content of sodium in it, the portions you eat and the oils and fats you use to prepare your food. Here are some tips to help you stay healthy by controlling the sodium intake in your diet: 

Cut back on salt early in life

Cutting back on salt and sodium early in life can have a significant impact on the health, rather than doing it as adults. Childhood is an important time to focus on conditioning the taste buds to eating moderately or less salted foods. This helps prevent the development of high blood pressure at early stage in life. 

Watch your portions of salty foods

Anything in moderation is safe. Similarly eating foods that have high sodium in limited portions and occasionally may not be as harmful as consuming it often. Processed foods are high in sodium content, even though they don’t taste “salty”. A recent report says, more than 40% of sodium comes from the following 10 types of foods:

• Breads and rolls
• Prepared foods such as Pasta dishes, burgers, pizzas, pickles, breakfast cereals, and restaurant foods.
• Cold cuts and cured meats such as packaged food
• Fresh and processed poultry
• Soups
• Sandwiches such as cheeseburgers
• Cheese
• Meat dishes with tomato sauce
• Snacks such as chips, savories, crackers, pretzels and popcorn.

Cook your own meals

Home cooked food is highly recommended as compared to eating processed foods and restaurant meals. Focus on cooking with fresh unprocessed ingredients to enable you to control the amount of salt (if any) you decide to add to your meals.

Make right food choices

• Let fruits and vegetables fill half your plate
• Choose healthy fats and oils; Avoid saturated and transfats such as palm oil, instead choose poly unsaturated fats (Sesame oil, cotton seed oil, sunflower oil, nuts and seeds) and monounsaturated fats ( peanut oil, olive oil, canola oil). A strategy to lower sodium levels.
• Spare the salt by choosing the right cooking methods - avoid deep fries, instead sear, sauté, and roast.

Moderation is the key to a healthy living! Saince wishes you a healthy and happy life with healthy diet!