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Family Health Magazine - NUTRITION

Hold the Salt
Too much can affect your health

Most Canadians eat far more than necessary.

A major part of common table salt is sodium and, while having some sodium in the diet is very important, too much can lead to big health problems. Too much sodium is a major factor in high blood pressure (hypertension) which leads to stroke, heart problems and kidney failure. Stomach cancer, asthma, kidney stones and osteoporosis are also linked with surplus salt.

One good reason to halt the salt

Sodium makes up a large part of common table salt. Getting 1200 to 1500 mg per day, about ½ teaspoon, is considered adequate for adults. Most Canadians consume two to three times that amount. The most salt an adult should take in daily is 2300 milligrams, about one teaspoon. Children need even less salt.

Reducing the amount of salt you eat can protect your health. In countries like Canada, high blood pressure is the biggest risk for death. It can cause stroke, kidney failure, heart attack, and heart failure. About one in four adult Canadians has high blood pressure. Nine in ten Canadians will develop it if they live to an average age. However, reducing sodium could prevent almost one in three people from developing this condition.

Sodium content of some common processed foods
Product	Sodium
Potato	5 mg
Potato chips (10)	200 mg
Cucumber (7 slices)	2 mg
Dill pickle (1)	928 mg
Pork (75 g = 3 oz)	59 mg
Ham (75 g = 3 oz)	1,114 mg
Bread (1 slice white)	114 mg
English muffin	293 mg
Water (1 cup tap)	12 mg
Antacid (sodium bicarbonate in water)	564 mg
Tomato	6 mg
Tomato paste or sauce	60 mg
Canned tomatoes	Up to 120 mg
Tomato soup	Up to 600 mg

If you already have high blood pressure, it is definitely worth avoiding salt. Reducing sodium could prevent one in seven deaths from stroke and one in 11 from heart attack. Even lowering normal blood pressure slightly can reduce your chance of stroke or heart attack.

I never add salt, so where does all the sodium come from?

If you wake up thirsty at night, with a dry mouth and unpleasant taste, the cause may be the high salt food you ate earlier in the day.

Only about a tenth of sodium in the diet is naturally in foods. Another tenth is added while preparing food or at the table. Most salt in the diet comes from restaurant and prepared food. Sodium is added to change the taste and to make food weigh more and last longer. In restaurants, added sodium in food makes you thirsty so you will buy more drinks.

There is no easy way to know how much sodium is in restaurant food. A single meal at a fast food restaurant may contain more sodium than is healthy for a full day. Some fast food chains in Canada add more salt to food than the same restaurants in other countries.

The type of food you buy and eat from the grocery store is also important. Buying foods low in sodium requires care. Since some companies add more than twice the amount of sodium that other companies do, you must read food labels.

Processing increases the sodium content of most foods. Consider a tomato, which has about six milligrams of sodium. The same amount of tomato may have up to 10 times more sodium (60 mg) in paste or sauce, up to 20 times more (120 mg) in canned tomatoes, and up to 100 times more (600 mg) in soup (see chart at left).

How can I reduce the amount of salt I eat?

Some people do not like the taste of low sodium food. It can taste strange without the unhealthy amount of salt. It takes about six weeks to adjust to less sodium in the diet. If a big change is made, this may take longer. Once you are used to eating less sodium, then salty foods taste bad. Adding other flavours to your food may help you adjust, but check for sodium on the label.

You can make many small changes to lower your sodium intake.

• Eat fresh foods more often.
  
• In restaurants, ask for less salt in your food order or eat smaller portions.
  
• If possible, wash canned food that is high in sodium before cooking with or eating it.
  
• Use only small amounts of condiments high in salt such as ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, gravies and salad dressings.
  
• Reduce the amount of pickled foods, olives, salsa, and dips you eat.
  
• Since processed foods from stores tend to be high in sodium, use them less often.
  
• Read food labels and buy brands with fewer milligrams of sodium per serving. Avoid foods with more than 400 mg per serving. Look for less than 100 mg per serving.
  
  • Look for low salt labels on food.
    
  • If the % Daily Value is 5 percent or less, the food is considered low in sodium.
    
  • If the % Daily Value is higher than 20 percent, sodium content is high.
    
• Do not use as much salt while cooking or at the table. Instead, use herbs and spices to flavour your foods (see right).
  

Is high sodium in the diet the main reason for developing high blood pressure?

Many aspects of your life affect blood pressure and your health. A healthy diet is very important in preventing and treating high blood pressure. Eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fibre and low fat diary products helps reduce blood pressure. A diet high in saturated fat (such as in meat) increases it and causes other health problems. A low sodium diet is an important part of a healthy diet.

Regular physical activity also prevents and treats high blood pressure and other health risks. Being overweight is also an important cause of hypertension. If you drink alcohol, limit it to two a day or less.

Certain diseases can also cause high blood pressure, although this is more unusual.

More information on eating a low salt diet

Canadian Hypertension Society, Canadian Hypertension Education Program, and Blood Pressure Canada  www.hypertension.ca   Click on the link under the ‘Public’ header

Dial-A-Dietitian – Nutrition Information – Heart Health: Nutrition for High Blood Pressure
www.dialadietitian.org/nutritionsubcat.asp?id=36

Dietitians of Canada – Eat Well, Live Well – Frequently Asked Questions and Fact Sheets
www.dietitians.ca

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While effort is made to reflect accepted medical knowledge and practice, articles in Family Health Online should not be relied upon for the treatment or management of any specifid medical problem or concern and Family Health accepts no liability for reliance on the articles. For proper diagnosis and care, you should always consult your family physican promptly. Copyright 2012, Family Health Magazine, a special publication of the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc., 10006 - 101 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 0S1  [NU_FHb08]