This
week our focus has been on SALT.
Key messages around lowering our salt intake have been
shared. The UK recommended intake of salt for adults, is to have no more than 6g
per day – that is one teaspoon per day.
The dangers of eating too much salt include a raised blood
pressure (hypertension) - much research
has shown that people of African descent are at higher risk of hypertension
which can lead to heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.
To round off the week, I thought I would touch upon a few
more areas, please do review my SALT blogs from p1. – p4.
Salt Substitutes
Salt substitutes such as Lo® Salt, Saxa So-Low® and
own-brand ‘reduced sodium salt’ are usually made from a combination of sodium
chloride and potassium chloride. Potassium can build up in the body when you
have kidney problems and cause an irregular heartbeat. For this reason, salt
substitutes are not generally recommended in people with kidney problems. I
advise that people seek advice before using these products. And it is important
to remember that using these products will not actually help to ‘retrain’ taste
buds by decreasing salt exposure.
Soluble vitamin
supplements or painkillers
If you routinely take an
effervescent (dissolvable) vitamin supplement, or take effervescent painkillers
when necessary, it's worth remembering that these can contain up to 1g salt per
tablet. You may therefore wish to consider changing to a non-effervescent
tablet, particularly if you have been advised to watch or reduce your salt
intake. Please discuss this with you GP or health care provider.
Useful Literature:
Here is an extremely useful resource
from the British Heart Foundation – it covers ways in which you can cut down on
salt.
Other
uses of Salt:
And finally…we know that eating too much salt is harmful
for our health. Here are some other uses
of salt…
- · To remove dead skin particles and boost your circulation. Give yourself a massage with dry salt. Ordinary salt works well; the larger sea salt crystals also do the job.
- · Get rid of yellow perspiration stains on shirts. Dissolve 4 tablespoons salt in 1 litre of hot water. Just sponge the garment with the solution until the stain disappears.
- · Treat mosquito bites. A saltwater soak can help with mosquito bites –a poultice of salt mixed with olive oil can help too.
- · Get rid of ant by sprinkling salt at doorways, window sills and anywhere else ants gain access. Ants apparently don’t like to walk on salt.
SALT has been a big topic to cover in a week, and I am
happy to receive questions you may have – do email me at foodforpurpose@gmail.com Also watch
out for my upcoming blog on Monosodium Glutamate – MSG.
References
http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/salthealth/ethnic/blackafrican/
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