Too much salt use raises health risks, says expert

Dar es Salaam. Salt is an essential element needed in a diet. In its moderation, salt is very important, but can adversely harm one’s health if not taken appropriately.

It is sodium (ions) present in salt that the body requires to perform a variety of essential functions. Salt helps in maintaining fluid in blood cells and is used to transmit information in nerves and muscles.

It is also used in the uptake of certain nutrients from the small intestine. The body cannot make salt and so we rely on the food we eat to ensure we get the required amount.

Too much salt is harmful

The global rate consumption is between 1.15gm and 2.3gm of sodium, but some countries have put in place different rates depending on the eating behaviour of the people. For instance, in Australia, people consume sodium up to six grams per day.

In an interview with The Citizen on Saturday on effects of eating food with high or little amount of salt, nutritionist Luitfrid Nnaly from Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC) says people consume salt depending on their taste of food.

He means that there are those, who prefer food with salt, while there are those, who prefer food with un-felt taste of salt. This makes the general measurement of one’s consumption per day difficult to establish.

He says there are even those, who add more salt in food, which has already enough salt due to taste buds, as they get used to a certain amount of salt.

He says excessive use of salt has a number of side effects. “Excessive salt consumption raises one’s blood pressure/hypertension and when one faces such a condition it increases risks of getting a stroke and heart problems,” he says.

So, too much salt consumption may result in kidney failure to excrete the amount one eats through urine, which could be fatal.

He, however, says that, although there are little effects on someone consuming little salt, a person with too little amount of salt in the body experiences consistent muscle cramps, fatigue or dizziness, a headache, vomiting or electrolyte disturbance, which can cause neurological problems or death. “This is because, the body needs the right amount of salt and water to function normally,” Nnaly says.

According to the Tanzania Demographic Health Survey 2010, 59 per cent of Tanzanians consume iodised salt. The body needs iodine for the thyroid to produce hormones that help regulate the metabolism and the growth and development of the body.

According to Mr Nnaly, although it is essential to consume iodised salt, maintaining the right amount is extremely important.

While people can live without eating natural salt, scientists and nutritionists say, it is possible to live with just no added salt as one can get it from various natural foodstuffs such as, tomatoes and bread, among other things.

For his part, a diabetic expert, Dr Nurdin Mavura, clears the assumption that people with diabetes should not consume salt, saying only if that particular person has hypertension (high blood pressure).

Like any other person, a diabetic patient can take salt contained in cooked food.

“The only problem they face is from industrialised food and consumption of raw salt because industrialised food contains a high amount of salt. But they can share a meal with every other member of the family that consumes moderate iodised salt,” he says.

However, diabetics should cut down their sodium intake to prevent serious complications because sodium is related to high blood pressure, which can lead to kidney damage, a coronary artery disease and a heart disease. In this case, diabetics are more likely to have high blood pressure than non-diabetics.

Lamenting on low salt diets, Hesperance Deodate, a nutritionist and programme coordinator of Beli Foundation, says people should get accustomed to the taste of salt that feels like the mother’s milk.

She says many foodstuffs have natural salt and, therefore, just a pinch of salt is needed as an additional element to a particular foodstuff.

“We eat what we feel like eating because it is what we are accustomed to, but the right way to taste is the feel of the mother’s milk,” she says.

Ms Deodate adds that, although too much salt has so many effects as discussed by experts, a person with no salt or with low level of salt is also in danger.

“We all need the right amount of salt for it is essential for many of the body’s functions, including fluid balance, blood pressure management and the nervous system,” says Ms Deodate.

A low sodium level in the blood may result from excess of water or fluid in the body, diluting the normal amount of sodium so that the concentration appears low. Thus, drinking too much water, with insufficient salt intake, puts a person at risk of water intoxication (hyponatremia).

This type of water intoxication can be the result of chronic conditions such as kidney failure (when excess fluid cannot be efficiently excreted) and congestive heart failure in which excess fluid accumulates in the body.

Healthier salt intake

Many health-conscious people find the following steps straightforward and easy to follow:

+ Start the day with no-added-salt porridge or a low-salt cereal, with or without low-fat yoghurt

+ Snack on fruit, dried fruit and nuts (unsalted).

+ Remove most of the processed foods from your shopping list and buy mostly fresh foods, especially fruit and vegetables.

+ Dress salads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar without adding salt or salty dressings.

+ Remove salt shakers from the table and the kitchen, including salt in all its guises—sea salt, garlic salt, onion salt, and all the expensive gourmet salts of various colours.

+ If you need supplementary iodine, using ‘iodised salt’ (salt that has been supplemented with iodine) is not appropriate. There are many other sources of iodine to help you meet your iodine requirements; these can be recommended by your pharmacist.

+ Cook food to conserve flavour using methods such as steaming, roasting, baking, stir-frying, microwaving or barbecuing. Boiling foods can result in loss of potassium and flavour into the boiling water; this may entice you to add salt after cooking.

+ If fresh vegetables, meat, poultry, eggs and fish need more flavour, use your favourite herbs, spices and vinegars, not salt, to create the flavour you desire.

+ Buy wholemeal or whole-grain bread from small bakers or specialty bread shops that cater for selective customers. Some low-salt breads are also available in some supermarkets. You can also make your own bread (perhaps with added iodine) in a bread maker.