- Excess salt causes many diseases because it increases blood pressure. So, how can we reduce our salt consumption?
Although salt consumption is very necessary for body functions, excessive consumption is very harmful as it disrupts blood pressure balance.
Salt consumption in our country
Turkey is the country that consumes the most salt in the world. While daily salt consumption in most countries is 9-12 grams per day, our salt consumption is around 18 grams per day on average. In our country, approximately one-third of the adult population suffers from hypertension due to high salt consumption. Our average blood pressure level is also higher than Japan, China, England and the USA. This situation reveals the fact that we urgently need to restrict our use of salt throughout society.
- Let's restrict salt in our diet
Reducing salt in the diet does not only reduce blood pressure. It also reduces the risk of new coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke. Hypertension also reduces the risk of stomach cancer, kidney disease, and bones are protected. Millions of dollars are saved in healthcare expenses. Currently, all countries are trying to reduce salt consumption.
When restricting salt in the diet, salt from all sources must be reduced. It is essential to reduce the salt used, especially during food processing. Because 75-80% of the salt consumed in industrialized countries is taken from processed, packaged and ready-made foods. Salt added while cooking or eating is only 10%. The rest is found naturally in foods. In Asian and African countries, the main source of salt is the salt added during cooking or found in sauces and spices.
- How much salt?
The World Health Organization recommends that adults use less than 5 grams of salt per day (2 grams of sodium /day) to prevent chronic diseases. Some countries have set salt targets in their diets and have made significant progress in this direction.
The main sources of salt intake in our country are white cheese, pickles, olives, noodles, sunflower seeds, tomato paste and adding salt to the food without tasting it. However, bread also increases our salt consumption. It plays a big role and we get more than our daily needs just with bread.
- How do we cut salt?
It is very difficult to cut salt suddenly. If it is reduced little by little, the sense of taste will get used to it within a few weeks. It is very important for health that everyone reduces the salt in their diet as much as possible. For this reason, do not add salt while cooking your food.
- Ask for your food to be prepared without salt at the restaurant. Just as you would like your coffee black, ask for your food without salt.
- Remove the salt shaker from the table. Use mint, parsley, dill, various spices, and red pepper powder for flavor.
- Lemon and vinegar are generally not as salty.
- The salt content of sausage, pastrami, and salami is much higher than normal meat. Consume as little as possible.
- Know that ready-made sauces such as ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, soy sauce and some spices are salty. Do not buy ready-made sauce, make your own sauce.
- Make it a habit to look at the ingredients of the product you buy during your grocery shopping. Because many foods that do not taste salty are actually stores of salt…
- Pay attention to whether the value on the label is salt or sodium. You can find the salt value by multiplying the sodium value given by 2.5.
- The salt content of different brands in the same product can be very different from each other. Check all of them and choose the same food with less salt.
- Especially choose vegetables and fruits as they have low salt content.
- For snacks, eat fruits instead of chips and nuts.
- Make sure to take a little less salt every day.
Healthy Days
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