Salt Week awareness week: How to get involved

March 4 marked the beginning of Salt Awareness Week.

The World Health Organization recommends that a person should consume 5g per day. However, Pharma Dynamics states that most adults in South Africa are consuming as much as 40g of salt a day.

Eating too much salt can cause damage to one’s health. It can lead to diseases such as hypertension and
contributes to a high risk of cardiovascular disease.

How can you reduce your own salt intake? 

The following is a guide from World Action on Salt organisation.

o Slowly reduce the amount of salt you use while cooking – your taste buds will adapt.

o Use herbs, spices, lemon, garlic and fresh chilli when cooking to add flavour in place of salt.

o Drain and rinse canned vegetables and beans – they are sometimes stored in salted water!

o Check food labels to check salt levels and choose the lower salt option. No nutrition labels? Write
to the manufacturer to ask why!

o Take salt shakers and salty sauces off the table so younger family members don’t develop the
habit of adding salt to their food.

Swap: 
o Tinned tuna in brine → tinned tuna in water

o Smoked salmon → fresh oily fish

o Ham and cheese sandwich filling → fresh sliced chicken and salad

o Salted butter → unsalted butter

o Prepacked salted popcorn → fresh popped unflavoured popcorn

o Salad dressings or mayonnaise → fresh herbs, balsamic vinegar or lemon juice

o Instant noodles → make your own with plain noodles, vegetables and fish or meat

o Pizza with high salt toppings e.g. anchovies, olives, pepperoni, marinated meats → pizza with
lower salt topping e.g. grilled chicken, peppers, mushrooms, sweetcorn

Dietician Mmatlou Rapholo of HealthWise Medical Centre in Kempton Park recommends that people start
paying attention to food labels.

“Spices, stock cubes, and soup powder also contain a high amount of salt, therefore use them in
moderation or avoid when Hypertensive, and limit intake of processed foods,” she says.

READ: Is salt killing you?