Yes, how to reduce excessive salt consumption for better health, this will be my focus of discussion today. This white wondrous powder which was apparently used by the Egyptians from just around 5000 to 10000 years ago for adding flavour to food has had a journey in itself.
It has always held a place of prominence in our history. Did you know that it was a form of salary or wages and hence the term “worth his salt” came about? Salt which was initially used only for curing meats later became an item for trade and commerce. The first ‘dish’ that is placed in the elaborate South Indian banana leaf meals is salt. Even Jesus was called the ‘Salt of the earth’ so I rest my case that it holds a very prominent place in our hearts.
Increased consumption of salt
Well what exactly has prompted me to write about it now? I have just travelled from one metro city to another (Bangalore to Chennai to be specific) in India. I had a pit stop at a popular food joint here and ordered ‘masala puri’ one of my personal favourite. What struck me instantly was the saltiness of the food. All other flavours were immersed below the apparent saltiness of food. That got me thinking. Most of the food that we get to taste nowadays is significantly saltier than what was available before. It was not just at this particularly food joint. If you would have actually noticed, over the years our popular noodles masala, the all time favourite party snack i.e, ‘potato chips’, sauce packets that come with our pizzas, sandwiches and even the roadside ‘pani puri’ has gained much salt.
Many of us myself included are guilty of adding salt to our curd (yogurt) and buttermilk without caring about excessive salt consumption and health hazards. Even fruits are not spared, we can get cut fruits with generous amounts of the salty ‘chaat masala’ at every roadside eatery. It begins in childhood itself- the popular packed snacks that our children get to eat is also loaded with salt. What pained me was that salt was freely served even during lunch at the factory I had visited in Chennai. Not that the sumptuous meal lacked any of it.
So what you might ask me, ‘salt ain’t like sugar’ you might say. One would wonder that considering all the hue and cry around healthy eating we would have looked at this important element. However, it continues to thrive in our dishes and does not get as much attention as sugar does.Unlike excess sugar, the salt does not drastically alter our external appearances by packing on the pounds or adding to the waist.
Excessive Salt :Health hazards
But tell you what salt is actually worse than it seems because it acts internally unbeknownst to us. Many lifestyle diseases are linked with high salt consumption. For starters, high blood pressure is linked to excess salt in our diet.Even seemingly simple signs actually might be a cry for help from our body which is detailed in this blog about signs of fatigue and prevention
The average salt consumption recommended for a person each day is only 5 grams, that is just a teaspoon of salt for the entire day.For a person with high blood pressure it’s just half of that. Now imagine this, an average Indian diet has upwards of 15 grams of salt in it. “Not to rub salt in the wound” but that’s three times the recommended amount. At this rate aren’t we all at a high risk for developing hypertension? Heart diseases, kidney stone formation, osteoporosis (bone loss), obesity and even certain types of stomach cancer are all found to be caused by excess salt consumption. I routinely treat several youngsters who have developed hypertension in their early 20s and 30s and one common risk factor that they all echo is the habit of eating out often. Online food ordering apps have become their go to pals for having a quick fuss free meal. Almost every food joint you order from will provide a salt rich experience just to make the food oh so delicious or yummy as they say. First thing that I advice most of them is to take the time out to cook something at home and keep online food ordering as a last resort option. When we eat our home cooked meals we can at least have control over the amount of salt or oil that we add.
Before you ask me to go “pound salt” do this simple exercise at home: if there are 4 members in your family then take out 4 teaspoons of salt onto a plate early morning. Make sure that you finish your entire day’s cooking with only that much amount of salt. Do you think you can do it? This is a simple trick to stay under the recommended amount daily.
Here I have mentioned few other ways to reduce your daily salt consumption consciously. These advices are definitely “worth their grain in salt” so pick and choose what you can do:
Tips to reduce salt consumption for better health
1. Try not to add extra salt at the table. Remember while cooking itself this magic potion is repeatedly added and adjusted before the dish finds its way to your table. Remove the ‘salt and pepper shakers’ that are kept at your table to avoid such temptations.
2. Pickle need not be your only side dish with lunch- some of us are quiet busy at work and end up having a very frugal lunch. Frugal in terms of dietary diversity- especially in our state, a spiced rice(lemon rice, curd rice or the humble kichdi) and a mango/lemon pickle are considered the ultimate “comfort food”. However this very comfort may end up being not so comfortable for you in the long run.
3. How many of us mindlessly munch on snacks like chips and popcorn while engrossed in watching a movie. The constant supply of such salty snacks need to be accounted for in our daily intake.We need to be mindful about the excessive salt consumption and the health hazards that can be caused by constant munching of these high salty snacks.
4. Papads or spiced dried rice cakes, salted fish and salted green chillies are another of my favourite comfort food. But mind you they are also dried under the sun soaked in spice and excess salt. So skip these the next time you see them. I know the temptation is real but skip them you must!
5. Who doesn’t love raw mangoes or guavas dipped in the beautiful concoction of spicy chilli powder and salt? Even fruits sold by roadside vendors are nowadays served with extra salt or ‘chaat masala’. Try eating your fruits whole with skin without any other accompaniments, they are more wholesome that way.
6. ‘Caeser salad’ or ‘Russian salad’ everything calls for a ‘sprinkling of salt’ and we make them extra tasty by addition of a generous amount of mayonnaise. What gets in unbeknownst to us is the extra salt as well. Make these salads at home by yourself and control the amount of salt and sauces you add to them.
7. In the pizzas or our ‘desi samosas’ the sweet and tangy ketchup packets are a constant accompaniment to it. All sauce packets are highly processed with salt to ensure that they stay edible for a long time. If you are the creative kind try making your own sauces at home. There are umpteen videos you can look up on YouTube and you will not be disappointed with your ability to achieve reduced salt consumption and health benefits.
8. If your parents are hypertensive don’t just make them follow a low salt diet. I once had a patient complaining that her daughter-in-law gives her a very salty curry so she ends up adding water to dilute this. Such a pity for the patient to eat a run down curry. Instead take this as a forewarning of your future health and reduce your salt consumption as a ‘family’.
9. Many cookbooks ask for salt addition right at the start of cooking. This apparently hastens the cooking process. But what happens on the flip side is that the salt you add gets into the core of the dish and ends up making it less salty towards the end. So add salt right at the end just before you switch of the gas. Trust me this small change in habit might go a long way.
10. Ditch the sauce the next time you want to go ‘Italian’. No one eats pizza with sauce in Italy anyways.
11. Salt should not be added in the food given to children under the age of one because their young kidneys cannot process the salt. Young mothers can be instead asked to switch to foods that are naturally salty like eggs, beet root or lemon which are all safe for children older than 6 months of age.
12. Finally remember everything we do is a force of habit. Habits can change and after all ‘change is the salt of life’. Even a perfectly seasoned dish will seem less salty to you if you have the habit of eating excess salt. That’s because our body get adjusted to this higher threshold. So try reducing your consumption and let your body attune itself to a lower threshold sooner rather than after developing these lifestyle diseases. Trust me you will never miss your salt and food will taste just as great.
All said and done take these advice with a ‘grain of salt’. It has not been unanimously proved that a total blanket reduction in salt consumption can cause substantial drop in blood pressure. At the most it can help reduce around 5-10mm of blood pressure. For those with borderline hypertension this measure might help control their blood pressure without medication. However, those with very high blood pressure still need to take their regular medications in addition to salt reduction and increased physical activity.
While I have outlined above how salt has become the hidden villain in our lives. I cannot end this blog without mentioning some heroic effects of salt. It is a life saving ingredient in the ORS packets and IV fluids that help us rehydrate when we get the ‘loosies’. The government has often used salt to fortify key elements like iron and iodine to target the deficiencies of the masses. However, moderation is key and use salt very prudently in our diet. ‘Getting back to the salt mines’ this task might seem impossible to us now but one spoon at a time it is possible to do so.
Nice article 👍