According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), South Africans consume 8.5 grams of salt per day, which is almost four grams higher than the recommended salt intake of five grams a day.
As the world observes Salt Awareness Week, the Heart and Stroke Foundation has been discussing ways in which South Africans can reduce their daily salt intake.
The foundation has been encouraging the public to use simple methods such as removing the salt shaker from one’s dinner table.
Foundation Dietician Megan Lee says changes could potentially prevent millions of deaths worldwide.
“This salt awareness week, we have come up with ways to lower salt intake. The first step is to cut down gradually. While you are cooking, just gradually add less salt. The second thing is to flavour meals using herbs, garlic and chilli. The third thing is to check food labels and check for food items that are low in sodium. If you are not already doing this, this is probably the easiest place to start – remove the salt shaker from the dinner table.”
We could prevent 2.5 million deaths EACH YEAR if global #salt consumption was reduced to 5g per day, from its current level of 9-12g per day. Try using other ingredients, such as citrus, chilli, garlic and fresh herbs, to flavour your food in place of salt #5Ways5Grams pic.twitter.com/Q1uwHGfsMv
— WASH (@WASHSALT) March 12, 2018
