SALT 5 g Woman +1.5 years Man +2.28 years
SALT 5 g Woman +1.5 years Man +2.28 years
Salt, like sugar, was costly in the past and not something people could afford to use in such large amounts that it harmed them. We worked “in the sweat of our brow” in the fields and the forest - our ancestors sweated more and ate less salt. As a child, I watched my mother pour salt on the dandelions and the power of the salt as they wilted. If you have floated in the Dead Sea and seen the absence of fish and plants, you realize that it is crucial to add enough salt.
Salt is a basic taste, our oldest spice and preservative whose production has been traced back to 6000 BC. Salt was valuable in ancient Rome, and soldiers were paid for it. A bad soldier could have his pay reduced - which is coined “not worth his salt.” The word for salary in English, “salary,” comes from the Latin word sal, which means salt.
Genoa fought and lost a war over salt against Venice. Christopher Columbus’ voyages were paid for by salt production. Salt was necessary in the American Revolution, and the salt tax in France was a cause of the French Revolution. The salt tax was abolished but brought back by Napoleon when he became emperor to pay for the wars.
In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led the Salt March with 100,000 demonstrators who made salt from the sea as civil resistance to the salt tax.
Positive effects: Professor Lu Qi of Tulane University used data from 501,000 adults who indicated how often they add extra salt to ready meals. If, at 50, one always used the salt shaker, life expectancy was reduced by 1.5 years for women and 2.28 years for men (compared to those who never or rarely used extra salt). Adults who always salt prepared food had a 28% greater risk of dying compared to adults who never or rarely salt their food.
Ma H, Xue Q, Wang X, et al. Adding salt to foods and hazard of premature mortality. Eur Heart J. Published online July 10, 2022. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehac208
https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/43/30/2...
The World Cancer Research Fund states that the risk of stomach cancer increases for those who eat a lot of salty food.
(WCRF 2016)
Salt should be iodized, and according to the WHO, you should eat less than 5 g per day (= less than 2 g of sodium) to prevent high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Be aware of your salt consumption and limit salt to 5 g daily. Sometimes, we are misled by the fact that the amount of sodium is indicated instead of the amount of salt in the food: 1 gram of sodium corresponds to 2.5 grams of salt.
Salt contains small doses of sodium, vital for humans - but the body only needs 1.5 g of salt daily. An average adult’s body has 250 g of sodium, which helps muscles work and nerves communicate and transport nutrients and oxygen.
The world’s most common cause of death is cardiovascular disease - and its risk is increased by excessive sodium intake, which raises blood pressure. Eat more fruits and vegetables with potassium. It protects, balances, and gets the body rid of too much sodium. Potassium mitigates the risk of high blood pressure and premature death.
People overeat sodium from salt (global average intake is 10.78 g salt/day) and too little potassium (less than 3.5 g). 1.89 million deaths worldwide could be prevented yearly if everyone ate 5g of salt daily. 46% with high blood pressure do not know about it. 42% with high blood pressure are diagnosed and treated. WHO Member States agree to reduce the world’s salt intake by 30% by 2025.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/s...
More than 9 out of 10 Americans eat more than twice the recommended amount of salt. According to the research, even those without high blood pressure get health benefits by cutting back on salt intake.
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/1...
Swedes overeat salt, but most people think they eat enough. Too much salt doesn’t show up as too many calories year after year. 75% of the salt eaten comes from processed foods, salt intake from snacks, bread, etc, and is invisible to us.
In Sweden, 25% of adults and 50% of those over 65 have high blood pressure. Over 40,000 Swedes have a heart attack or stroke each year. The Institute for Health and Healthcare Economics lists salt as the cause of every fifth heart attack and every tenth stroke in Sweden. The Swedish Food Agency tested lunches in town and found that they often had more than 5 g of salt (pizza = 8 g).
Tip: The saltier food you’re used to, the saltier taste your taste buds demand. The shop hass an iodine-enriched salt from the Atacama desert with a regular salt taste but with 35% less sodium. 4-5 weeks after salt reduction, the taste buds adjust to feel the authentic flavors and nuances of the food. Increase the flavor with herbs, garlic, onion, ginger, chili, lemon, and lime. You go from seeing the world in black and white to seeing it in color.
Guideline: Sodium intake for adults and children. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2012.
Guideline: Potassium intake for adults and children. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2012.
Comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2014.
Mozaffarian D, Fahimi S, Singh GM, Micha R, Khatibzadeh S, Engell RE et al. Global sodium consumption and death from cardiovascular causes. N Engl J Med. 2014; 371(7):624–34.
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