Consume less salt and save your life
Ekurhuleni metro is urging residents, young and old, to reduce their salt intake to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.
As South Africa observed National Salt Awareness Week from March 12 to 18, it is important to note that there has been a recorded increase in the number of young people diagnosed with hypertension and high blood pressure in Ekurhuleni in recent months.
Ekurhuleni health practitioners have attributed these worrying developments mainly to the high level of salt intake.
The metro’s manager for non-communicable diseases, Angie Ndhambi, strongly urges residents, young and old, to adopt the recommended daily intake limit of 5g of salt as part of their lifestyle.
“Families should ensure that they remove salt shakers from their dining tables to ensure that the young members of their families use less salt and allow their little taste buds to adapt to foods that are not seasoned with salt,” said Ndhambi.
The health practitioner further stressed that adding raw salt to cooked food is even more detrimental and can lead to high blood pressure, which is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease.
However, this non-communicable disease can be prevented by adopting the following lifestyle changes:
• Using herbs, spices, garlic, chillies or lemon to season food instead of using salt.
• Staying away from takeaways such as fried chicken because they have large quantities of salt.
• Eating more fruit and vegetables because they contain minerals.
• Check food labels and consume foods with less sodium in them.
