Much Ado About Salt
Salt – we need it to survive, yet it’s killing us! No wonder why we recently declared war against this little electrolyte. According to Health Canada, the average Canadian consumes about 2760 milligrams of sodium per day. That's almost TWICE the recommended intake for good health!
In reality, adults should be consuming about 1500 mg a day, with a maximum of 2300 mg; and children should be consuming between 1000 mg - 1500 mg a day (depending on their age). But as expected, Canadian children are also eating way too much. In 2004, 77% of children aged 1 to 3 years and 93% of children aged 4 to 8 years were eating more than the recommended amount.
But why should that be concerning? What’s so bad about eating too much salt?
Long story short, overconsumption of salt causes the body to:
Draw in more water into the blood in order to “dilute” it so it doesn’t become too concentrated with sodium (which also explains the giant bloated food belly after a huge salty meal).
As the heart works harder to pump increased blood volume around your body, blood pressure increases.
Chronic high blood pressure is problematic, as it is one of the main factors contributing to heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.
On the other hand, please don’t forget that salt is critical for regulating normal fluid levels, blood pressure, and muscle and nerve functions. So try your best to stick with the recommended 1,500 mg a day!
According to HealthLinkBC, The 10 food groupings with the highest percentages of total sodium in the Canadian diet are:
1. Pizza, sandwiches, submarines, hamburgers and hotdogs 19.1%
2. Soups 7.4%
3. Pasta 5.7%
4. Liquid milk and milk-based beverages 4.0%
5. Poultry and poultry dishes 3.8%
6. Potatoes 3.4%
7. Cheese 3.2%
8. Cereals 3.0%
9. Beef 3.0%
10. Sauces 2.9%
…And 11% comes from using the saltshaker. Stop it!
So, what can YOU do?
Try cutting back on restaurant or fast-food meals, and when you’re preparing meals at home, try making them from scratch rather than using processed ingredients.
Salt DOES add flavor to our food, but the more salt we eat, the more we like it – talk about a vicious cycle. If food manufactures start lowering the amount of salt in our food, there’s a good chance we can beat it…let the war continue!
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Image courtesy of monicore
