Salt- Should we ration it in our diet?

The article below has been adapted from articles appearing the Sunday Star.
It is meant as a reminder to myself and those I care about ,on the dangers of consuming to much salt in our diet.

A survey has indicated that Malaysians not only are sweet -toothed but love salty foods as well. It is no wonder that fried salted fish is the daily diet of most people in the villages and a favorite dish during feasts.We are winners in this category as our salt intake is 25% higher than the standard set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Malaysia Diet Guildlines 2010, recommends that an adult's salt intake should not exceed one teaspoon or 5g, which was equivalent to 2,000mg sodium a day.

However, the Food Intake Among Malaysian Adults Research 2002/2003 showed that the salt intake for Malaysian adults is 2,575mg of sodium a day.This comes to about 28.75% from the Malaysia Diet Guildlines 2010, recommendation of 2,000gm of sodium a day.

The Minister of Health has been recorded to have said that "The National Health and Morbidity survey III (2006) found that the prevalence of hypertension among Malaysian adults to be 43%."

A high salt consumption can be related to various health problems such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis, asthma and obesity.


In Malaysia, it is not mandatory to label the salt content in food. However, the Ministry  monitors the salt content in processed food and encourage manufacturers to produce low-salt food.
Now for those who have forgotten their Chemistry, you may want to be refreshed as to what constitute the common salt.

Common Salt is the common name for sodium chloride. It is the sodium component of salt that is important. There are about 2.5g of sodium in every 6g of salt. Why do we need salt?
The body needs a certain amount of sodium to function properly.Sodium helps to maintain the concentration of body fluids at correct levels. It also helps cells to take up nutrients.

Why is too much salt bad?

When levels of sodium are too high, the body retains too much water and the volume of bodily fluids increases.

Many medical practitioners believe this process leads to high blood pressure, or hypertension, which in turn is linked to a greater risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.

Excessive salt can be dangerous for young babies too.While an adult will be able to get rid of salt from the body through the kidneys into the urine, very young babies cannot process large quantities of salt as their kidneys are still immature.When they are given food with a high salt content before they are at least four months old, they may suffer from kidney, liver and brain damage. Therefore, it is best not to add salt to the foods you prepare for your baby before he/she reaches 1 year old, if you want to save your child's young and not-fully developed klidnays, liver and brain. You have to remember that what you feed your child at a young age could determine your child's future intelligence.

How much salt should we eat?

Experts recommend that adults eat 5-6g of salt a day (equivalent to one teaspoonful). It is estimated that if average consumption was cut to 6g a day, it would prevent 70,000 heart attacks and strokes a year.

And this is not just the salt you add to your food; according to many studies around the world, most of the salt we eat is already in our everyday food like bread and meat. Small amounts of sodium can be found naturally in some foods such as eggs and fish. Hence, you really do not need to add salt when cooking fresh marine fish or eggs.

The salt we sprinkle into our cooking and on cooked food accounts for only 10%-15% of our intake.Never, never place a salt condiment bottle on the table.Similarly, the practice of lacing everything you eat with soya sauce is also not encouraged. It is even worse as the soya sauce contains a lot of sugar as well.

Packaged and processed foods are thought to account for around 75% of the average person’s salt intake.

How to reduce salt intake:

•  Remove or cut down salt in cooking. Use herbs, spices and other seasonings to enhance flavour.
•  Carefully monitor the salt content of processed food you consume. Choose products with lower sodium content.
• Eat more fruit and vegetables - they contain potassium which balances the effect of salt on the body.
• When eating out, make smart choices like asking for your food without salt or for dressings or sauces on the side, so you can only have as much as you need.

Your taste for salt is acquired. It can be unlearned - reduce your salt intake gradually and your taste buds will adjust.

How to look out for salt when shopping:

Buying food that is low in salt is one of the best ways to cut down on salt. So, before putting anything into that shopping cart, check the label to see how much salt is in the food per 100g:

Although the labelling of salt content in food is not compulsory in Malaysia, most imported goods state how much salt is in 100g of food.

Most food labels, however, give the sodium, rather than the salt content, of food.

You can still find out the amount of salt in a product by multiplying the sodium content by 2.5.

So folks, the time has come for us to adopt a better diet with less SALT. Who needs dried salted meats or fish when you can get them fresh nowadays with modern freezing and packaging methods!