Essential salt

In this era of over consumption, it becomes important to know how much sodium we need in our daily diet to lead a healthy life...

In this era of over consumption, it becomes important to know how much sodium we need in our daily diet to lead a healthy life and how much are we consuming. In a tropical hot country like ours, the sodium that is required in order to carry on body functions efficiently and at the same time compensate for losses in sweat and urine is only 500 mg per day.

This value of sodium can easily be met when consuming a mixed diet 8212; green leafy vegetables, meats, dairy foods and nuts. The real needs of sodium are likely to be met through natural foods only and it is unlikely that one could become sodium deficient if table salt is not added to foods.

It is advisable not to overshoot the safe allowance, which sets the limit at 2,400 mg per day 8212; equal to 6 grams or one teaspoon of salt. This recommendation has been made keeping in mind the strong correlation of salt intake with high blood pressure. Contrast this recommended allowance to what we may actually be imbibing!

Some restaurant meals are known to contain as high as 5,300 mg sodium. Ingredients such as baking soda, monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrate and other additives have high sodium content. The other major source of sodium is processed foods that are loaded with preservatives, flavour enhancers and texture enhancers. The salt content of several of the salty tasting food could in fact be lower than that of many low-fat foods. This is because salt is actually added to low-fat foods to compensate for the lack of taste. You may be surprised to know that one ounce of cornflakes contains more sodium than one ounce of salted peanuts. The sodium in the processed foods is not always present in conjunction with chloride, as is the case with salt.

A recent survey of schoolchildren in Delhi reveals an alarming presence of hypertension. As hypertension is beginning to be synonymous with modern living, it does make more sense to prevent the hazards of excess sodium in our diets.

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