10 COMMON FOODS AND FOOD ADDITIVES TO AVOID TO MINIMIZE YOUR SALT/SODIUM INTAKE

 

1. Bread

2. Tomato sauce and Ketchup

3. Margarine

4. Salted butter

5. Commercial juices

6. Biscuits 

7. All baked products e.g. cakes, cookies 

8. All cured and canned meats e.g. Sausages, Ham, Brawn and Smokies

9. Potato crisps, cheese rings and commercial popcorn

10. Artificial spices and condiments e.g. beef and chicken cubes, maggi, royco cubes, beef chilli cubes, soy sauce  

SALT (SODIUM CHLORIDE) SUBSTITUTES

1.      Herbal Salt

Herbal salts consist of a mix of herbs and a minimum amount of sea salt, which is low in sodium content. There are several brands available in most supermarkets. Most herbal salt brands cost between Ksh. 80 and Ksh. 200. I know it’s not easy to make Kenyans switch to healthier options considering the fact that the normal salt costs as low Ksh. 10 or less.

Ensure that the herbal salt is iodized before you purchase it, which is usually indicated on the packet/packaging.

I still do not understand why most unhealthy foods are cheap and the healthier ones way more expensive. I think one of the rogue business men’s strategies is to make billions from getting people sick. Monsanto is clearly not the only culprit when it comes to literally feeding people cancer and other Non-Communicable Diseases!

2.      Potassium Chloride Salt    

I need to start with a contraindication for this particular salt. DO NOT use a Potassium Chloride salt if you or one of the persons intended to consume food prepared with this particular salt has a Renal/Kidney problem. Major reason for the contraindication is the fact that this salt will worsen the problem.  I see many Diabetic patients preferring this salt, however it’s very important to note that if you have any medical condition you need to consult a Licensed Nutritionist for advice before making any changes or including a new product to your diet. One of Diabetes complications is Renal Failure. If you or your loved one is diabetic and has swollen feet (edema) or has a swelling on any part of the body, an assessment is very important to make ensure that the fluid retention is not caused by a kidney problem.

Other than that, Potassium Chloride is a great substitute for Sodium Chloride salt. It can be used as a table salt substitute; it tastes remarkably similar to salt with just a slight aftertaste. This salt is also effective for cooking and sprinkling at the table.

NB: Some researches have disqualified this salt for use as a salt substitute. I'm still working on a desk review of the research findings supporting and against this salt. I'll let you know my analysis soon.

3.      Low Sodium Sea Salt

This is sea salt with reduced sodium content and it’s less costly compared to the herbal salt. It can be used for cooking and sprinkling at the table.

Of the three mentioned salts, the best option is the herbal salt.

Tip to reduce your salt consumption

·         Use fresh natural herbs and spices like coriander, ginger, onions, garlic, chillies, cinnamon, lemon juice, pepper and vinegar among others. Apple cider vinegar is an excellent healthy choice. These help to naturally improve the taste of food, hence you use less salt in cooking.

·         If you’re on a budget, you can use sodium reduced salt to cook and herbal salt for sprinkling.  

NB: One of the body’s mechanisms of warning you that you’re taking in too much salt is thirst.

As always, remember. Your Health is Your responsibility!!

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!!

SALT IS KILLING YOU!!

Unfortunately, very few of us were allowed to keep the sensitive, discriminating palates we were born with. I’m 100% certain if you served the food you eat daily to a person who has never eaten salt before, they would spit it out right away.   

I cringe every time I read food labels and discover the amount of salt (Sodium Chloride) added to processed foods. Kenyans are exposed daily to numerous ingredients that have been proven by research to cause Non-Communicable Diseases and the fact that the ‘watch-dog’ bodies don’t seem to be doing anything to change the situation makes the matter a thousand times worse.   

International guidelines dictate an ‘Adequate Intake’ of 20–40 mmol (460–920 mg) of sodium per day. This corresponds to 1.15–2.3 grams of salt. The set ‘Upper Limit’ or maximum amount for sodium intake is 2300 mg per day (corresponding to approximately 6 grams of salt). Well, let me make your work easier, it is approximately 1 teaspoon of salt is approximately 4.2 grams. Intake above this level is regarded as likely to cause harm. 

Sodium and Potassium are very important salts in the body. Excess sodium consumption however raises your blood pressure.  Potassium on the other hand is the main mineral responsible for lowering the blood pressure. This means that for your blood pressure to be normal, the blood levels of potassium and sodium must be at ‘normal’ levels.  

Salt would rapidly be fatal if the kidneys could not excrete it as fast as you eat it. The kidneys excrete salt (sodium) faster at a higher blood pressure, and the ability of the kidneys to excrete excess sodium provides powerful and life-saving protection against the accumulation of a dangerous backlog of salt. High blood pressure unfortunately has a number of dangerous long-term health outcomes, and greatly increases the risk of both stroke and heart disease. (Australian National Health and Medical Research Council) Continuously elevated blood pressure or high blood pressure over a prolonged period is referred to as Hypertension.   

 I have unfortunately not come across research findings indicating how much sodium Kenyans are consuming. Considering the increasing prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases among Kenyans, especially among young kids and the youth, it’s crucial for the Government to fund not only research, but also a consumer behavior change communication project specific to Food, Nutrition and Lifestyle Choices.

As always, I need to sing Kenya’s seemingly National Slogan, Government regulatory bodies need to start doing their job. The Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kenya Pharmaceuticals and Poisons Board and whoever else whose job it is to regulate the local foods manufacturing and imports market, seriously need to be fired or explain to Kenyans why Supermarkets are packed with foods that are literally killing Kenyans.

I normally advise parents not to start adding salt (sodium chloride) to baby food until way after 1 year, after which they still need to use a very small amount, or even better, iodized herbal salt. You already eat Sodium in your daily diet, so you don’t need to be adding too much of it in your food.

If you’re like me and your taste buds have been totally messed up over the years by a consistent high intake of salt, simply substitute the normal table salt with what most people refer to as Diabetics salt. It’s basically sodium reduced sea salt, just ensure that it’s indicated on the container that it’s Iodized to prevent goiter. Even better if you can, substitute normal table salt with Iodized herbal salt; that way you’ll get additional benefits of healthy herbs. Herbal salt may not be the best if you have ulcers or Hyper-Acidity due to the added spices and herbs that might trigger acid production.

For any queries or Nutrition Consultation or a topic you would like me to address, comment below or visit my Facebook page; www.facebook.com/StellarAfya or email me on stllkimani@gmail.com.