In the matter of "eating", we have done enough addition. After exhausting deep processing methods such as frying, roasting, frying, sauce, and marinade, I ate more and more foods high in oil, sugar, salt, fat and calories. The taste is getting heavier, the diet is getting more and more unhealthy, and there are many physical diseases eaten.
Over the years, we have begun to do subtraction, reducing oil, sugar, fat, carbs, and now, it's the turn to reduce salt!
01
Global per capita sodium intake is seriously exceeded
On 9 March 2023, the World Health Organization published its first Global Report on Reducing Sodium Intake.
The report shows that the global average sodium intake per person per day is 4310 mg (equivalent to 10.8 g of salt), far exceeding physiological needs and the WHO recommended daily sodium intake of 2000 mg (equivalent to 5 g of salt).
The average daily salt intake of mainland adults is the highest in the world, about 11 grams per day. [1]
Copyright images in the gallery are not authorized to be reproduced
The report notes that while all 194 member states of the World Health Organization have committed to reducing per capita sodium intake by 30% by 2030, only nine countries (Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Uruguay) have fully developed recommended policies to reduce sodium intake. Most countries have not yet adopted any mandatory sodium reduction policies.
The report calls on Member States to immediately implement policies to reduce sodium intake and mitigate the harmful effects of excessive salt consumption.
02
Eating too much salt is harmful to health
Table salt is the most important source of sodium, and "sodium reduction" is usually directly expressed as "salt reduction".
Salt is the first of the hundred flavors, we need it to cook delicious, we also need it to maintain growth and metabolism, it is a very important electrolyte in the human body, has the role of maintaining fluid balance. But consuming too much salt carries great health risks.
Unhealthy diets are the leading cause of death and disease worldwide, with excessive salt intake being one of the main culprits.
1. High-salt diet causes cardiovascular disease
High-salt diet is the most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, excessive salt intake will increase the heart load, resulting in a significant increase in blood pressure, severe cases can cause cardiac insufficiency, heart failure, etc., will also cause a decrease in vascular elasticity, increased cholesterol content in blood vessels, and an increased chance of coronary atherosclerosis.
Copyright images in the gallery are not authorized to be reproduced
A study published in June 2022 in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health said that cardiovascular disease accounts for 40% of all deaths on the mainland. If the per capita daily salt intake were reduced by 1 gram, 9 million people with cardiovascular disease could be eliminated by 2030, of which about 4 million would be saved from stroke or death due to cardiovascular disease. [2]
If we reach the recommended salt intake target of 5 grams per day per capita by 2030, we can reduce the average systolic blood pressure of our people by about 7.1mmHg. Reduced the risk of ischemic heart disease by 23% and stroke by 30%, reducing the occurrence of cardiovascular disease in 17 million cases and saving 8 million of them.
If this habit were maintained for another 10 years, a total of 18 million Chinese could have avoided deaths from cardiovascular disease.
2. High-salt diets increase brain damage
Previous studies have shown that high blood pressure can cause damage to the brain, and 50 to 60 percent of high blood pressure is salt-dependent hypertension caused by excess table salt.
A 2021 study published in Cell Reports revealed for the first time the effects of salt-dependent hypertension on brain neural activity: if you consume a lot of salt for a long time, the sodium content in the body will remain high for a long time, and vasopressin neurons will be overactive.
This mechanism leads to excessive hypoxia, which can lead to brain tissue damage. [3]
3. A high-salt diet increases the risk of stomach cancer
The occurrence of gastritis is also closely related to a high-salt diet, because excessive salt intake will irritate the gastric mucosa, damage the stomach wall, increase the possibility of infection with Helicobacter pylori, and increase the risk of gastritis and gastric cancer.
In 2021, Harvard University scholars published a study exploring the association between the incidence of gastrointestinal tumors and changes in some risk factors in lifestyle Chinese, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).
The study included lifestyle and gastrointestinal tumor incidence data from more than 27,000 individuals, and statistical analysis found that high sodium intake was strongly associated with 16.6% of stomach cancer and was the leading dietary risk factor for stomach cancer. [4]
4. A high-salt diet increases other health risks
In addition, a number of studies have shown that excessive salt intake can also increase the burden on the kidneys, cause body edema, cause obesity, reduce bone density, aggravate asthma, reduce immunity, and lead to symptoms such as poor skin quality and dry hair.
03
Be wary of "invisible salts" in food
Salt is an important condiment, salty and sour, salty sweet, salty and fragrant, salty and spicy, salty and fresh food, are so delicious. Salt is also an important preservative, and foods with sufficient salt are not easy to breed bacteria and can be stored for a long time. Salt is also used as an important ingredient in many condiments and food additives.
Therefore, the salt we eat in our mouths, in addition to the "visible" salt that we add to the dishes with our own hands, also includes the "invisible" salt added to other foods and condiments.
But let's look at how much invisible salt is in the foods we eat regularly.
1. Sauce, soy sauce
The salt content of various sauces and soy sauces is very high, 100 grams of soybean paste is equivalent to 15 grams of salt, and 100 grams of soy sauce is equivalent to 15~20 grams of salt.
Chicken essence, monosodium glutamate, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, tomato paste, salad dressing, chili paste, tofu milk, leek flowers and other condiments contain a lot of salt, these are the most common hiding places for "invisible salt".
Copyright images in the gallery are not authorized to be reproduced
When we make dishes, if we put these condiments, we must reduce the amount of salt added accordingly.
2. Bacon, cured meat, pickles
In order to inhibit the reproduction of bacteria and prevent the breeding of spoilage, cured meat, pickles, etc., cured foods and pickled foods need to use a lot of salt in the process of preparation. Among them, the salt content of bacon can be as high as 5~10%, and the salt content of pickles can be as high as 10%~14%, and the salt content is too high.
If we eat these foods that day, we need to reduce the salt intake in other foods accordingly.
Copyright images in the gallery are not authorized to be reproduced
3. Pasta, snacks, drinks
Few people notice that the dough cakes, bread, noodles, bun skins, dumpling skins, wonton skins, cakes, ice cream, chocolate, drinks, etc. that we usually eat will add the right amount of salt in the production process, but these "invisible salts" are the easiest for us to ignore.
The amount of salt in a single food may only be a little, but the amount is not enough, accumulated in a day, but the amount of salt ingested from these foods is already a lot.
4. Snacks and convenience foods
Snacks and convenience foods such as preserved fruits, preserves, dried plums, jerky, nori seaweed, biscuits, puffed foods, instant noodles, etc., are also big "invisible salt".
Because they not only add a lot of salt during the production process, but also add food additives containing sodium, such as sodium nitrite, sodium polyphosphate, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate, sodium dehydroacetate, etc. When calculating sodium intake, not only the sodium in the table salt must be included, but also the sodium in the food additives.
Limit salt, to be precise, should limit "sodium". Remember a simple formula: 1 gram of salt ≈ 400 mg of sodium.
For example, 1 small box of biscuits, 80 grams, 236 mg sodium, about 0.6 grams of salt; a small packet of plum meat, 20 g, 620 mg sodium, about 1.5 g salt; Bottle of soda, 330 ml, 40 mg sodium, about 0.1 g salt.
Let's say you eat such a snack a day, it doesn't seem like much, but zero zero finally comes down, and before the formal meal is cooked, it has already eaten 2 grams of salt.
Copyright images in the gallery are not authorized to be reproduced
To this end, WHO calls on all countries to implement sodium reduction measures, including:
1. Adjust food recipes to reduce salt content and set targets for sodium content in foods and meals.
2. Develop public food procurement policies to limit foods high in salt or sodium in public institutions such as hospitals, schools, workplaces and nursing homes.
3. Implement front-of-pack labeling to help consumers choose foods with lower sodium content.
4. Promote advocacy and media campaigns to reduce salt or sodium intake in the public diet.
04
How to reduce salt in your daily diet?
To bring salt intake down, we need to manage our daily diet.
1. The easiest way is to choose foods that are natural, unprocessed, or simply cooked.
Eating more natural, unprocessed or only steamed, boiled, cold mixed and other simple cooking foods has many benefits, they not only preserve the natural deliciousness and rich nutrients, but also reduce the intake of oil, salt, calories, from all aspects, are worth advocating.
However, when eating food that has not been processed at high temperature, it is necessary to pay more attention to cleanliness and hygiene and beware of microbial contamination and parasite hazards.
2. Use other seasonings when making food
When we make food, we can use more natural seasonings such as green onions, ginger, garlic, peppers, peppercorns, etc., instead of salt, soy sauce, chicken essence and sauce, and use the rich taste of natural seasonings to enhance the flavor of the dish.
Copyright images in the gallery are not authorized to be reproduced
There is also a tip, adding salt before the dish is ready to be cooked, can also maintain the taste of salt with maximum efficiency, thus avoiding adding salt many times during the cooking process.
3. Pay attention to the sodium content in packaged foods
When buying packaged food, we can not only focus on the amount of calories, fat and sugar, but also on the sodium content in it.
You can check the nutrition facts table behind the bag and choose foods with lower sodium content.
Note that this "sodium" includes both the "sodium" in table salt and the "sodium" in food additives such as sodium nitrite, sodium polyphosphate, sodium citrate, and sodium benzoate.
Bibliography:
[1] World Health Organization. WHO Global Report on Sodium Intake Reduction.2023.3
[2] Monique Tan. et al. Reducing daily salt intake in China by 1 g could prevent almost 9 million cardiovascular events by 2030: a modelling study. BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2021-000408
[3] Ranjan K.Roy. et al. Inverse neurovascular coupling contributes to positive feedback excitation of vasopressin neurons during a systemic homeostatic challenge. Cell Reports.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109925
[4] Wu,You et al. Potential Impact of Time Trend of Lifestyle Risk Factors on Burden of Major Gastrointestinal Cancers in China. [J] Gastroenterology,2021:1-12
Produced by Popular Science China
Author|Zeng Xinyue popular science creator
Audit|Gao Chao Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
The cover image and the image in this article are from the copyright gallery
The content of the image is not authorized to be reproduced