WONDERING WHERE THE EXCESS SALT IN YOUR DIET IS COMING FROM?

I know I do sound like a broken record at this point going on and on about Non-Communicable diseases and why each of us needs to take the initiative to prevent them. Every time I tell my clients, friends and family they’re consuming too much salt I’m met with rolling eyes and almost everyone at this point thinks I’m the annoying nutritionist friend they’d rather avoid during meals. Well, you’re kinda right on that one and to annoy you even more I’ll repeat it. Sodium increases your blood pressure and increased/high blood pressure over a prolonged period leads to Hypertension.

High Salt (Sodium) intake has been proven to raise blood pressure, which eventually exposes you to hypertension. The unfortunate fact is that most of us have no idea how much sodium we’re taking. There’s so much hidden sodium in processed products including juices, cured meats, biscuits etc. In Kenya the matter is devastating because more than half of the foods in the retail stores, supermarkets and on the streets with hawkers is pumped with very high amounts of sodium.

To give you a clearer picture of the situation, let’s look at a sample family Menu. So, let’s assume for breakfast you take bread from the store/supermarket with an egg, a sausage/smokie/ham etc and a cup of tea or milk. The only thing on that list without salt/sodium is the milk or tea. The cured meats (sausage, smokie, ham, brawn etc.) all have sodium chloride (salt) and Sodium benzoate. The sodium causes hypertension and the benzene is a carcinogen (cancer-causing). So, for lunch you take a meal of your choice and add ketchup or tomato sauce in your food, the sauce has sodium benzoate so you’re exposing yourself to both hypertension and cancer and also remember that the food already has added salt. If during the day you snack on biscuits and or commercial juices from the shop, I hate to break your bubble again. More than 90% of the brands I’ve seen in the market, both local and international, have both sodium chloride/salt and sodium benzoate, which is a preservative. So, do you add commercial spices and condiments to your food while cooking or after cooking? These too have both salt and sodium benzoate and to top that you also add salt during the cooking process.  If you like ‘BITEZ’ like me, their crisps and cheese rings have sodium benzoate. Oh, if you use salted butter or the margarine sold in Kenyan market on bread; that too has salt!!

In summary, you and I unknowingly eat close to ten times or more the amount of salt we should be eating per day, most of it hidden in processed products. Oh by the way Dasani water is high in sodium too! Add that to reasons why I’m a strong campaigner against the Coca cola industries. The sugar, salt, excess caffeine and God knows what else is hidden in those drinks is silently turning Kenyans into ‘the walking dead’!!

So, have I at least made you understand why you need to watch your diet more? Okey, I’ll list foods that you need to avoid to reduce your sodium intake on the next article. All I can say for now, please read the ingredients before buying any food from the store and reduce the amount of salt you add to food. If this is not working, I’ll discuss on another article how you can substitute salt (sodium) in your cooking. Till then, remember that your health is your responsibility!!