WHAT'S UP DOC : Avoid hogging that salt-shaker at dining table

What you need to know:

  • However, if current reports on dangers of eating excessive salt are anything to go by, then, it means that saltier food may be tastier but also “deadlier.”

Some people still believe that the saltier the food is, the tastier it becomes.

However, if current reports on dangers of eating excessive salt are anything to go by, then, it means that saltier food may be tastier but also “deadlier.”

If you are fond of that salt shaker at the dining table, you may have to change your mind today, as these reports on salt actually mean that you might be hurtling to an early grave.

This is a must. You are not supposed to consume more than 2grams of salt on a day, according to the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO). That amounts to slightly less than a teaspoon.

But, watch out! It may not necessarily be about that raw salt that you are fond of—there is also what we call hidden salt. That’s the salt found in bread and biscuits as well as the cereals you take at breakfast—and it’s high in amount, for your information.

There are reports indicating that 80 per cent of the salt consumed by people comes from processed foods.

No wonder, this year’s findings published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), indicated that people in 181 out of 187 countries that were sampled, exceed the WHO’s recommended daily limit of salt.

But the BMJ’s findings come after previous reports—especially those by the WHO in 2012, which indicated that over 17.5 million people perished from cardiovascular diseases—mainly due to high blood pressure.

That’s why the UN Action Plan for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases decided to push for the reduction of sodium intake as one of the prime targets for all member states, between 2013 and 2020.

European countries embraced this campaign—and it paid off, somehow. But here in Africa and Tanzania in particular, we have a long way to go.

With our small health budgets, it has been difficult to push for some of these interventions.

Now that governments are taking too long to respond to this, just as they have responded to malaria and tuberculosis, it’s up to you to restrict your taste-buds and eat less salt.

Start right from the kitchen. Discard that salt shaker. You can also teach family members on how to be content with the amount of salt added to food during preparation.

Keep soy sauces away from your kitchen. Endeavour to use fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, onions, pepper and chillies, in your food.

Stay safe!