Control, salt, delete - that was the closing remarks of a speech by M Edwin Fernando, Professor and Head of Nephrology, Government Stanley Medical College, Chennai. He was driving the point on the need to reduce the salt intake and the use of low sodium salt substitutes at a workshop for Doctors on ‘Low Salt Diet.’’
Dietary salt is an important contributor to high blood pressure (BP). Reducing salt lowers BP and prevents cardiovascular disease, he said at the workshop, a collaborative effort between Sapiens Health Foundation, Department of Medical Sciences & Technology, Directorate of Public Health, Govt of Tamil Nadu, & Resolve to Save Lives, a New York-based NGO
Rajan Ravichandran, Chairman of the Sapiens Health Foundation and Professor of Practice at IIT Madras, ended his speech by playing a video of actor Rajinikanth highlighting on the adverse effect of salt.
“The video clip is my trump card to convey the message to the public on the important topic,” said Ravichandran. The actor in the video said while cigarettes and alcohol can affect individual organs, salt affects the entire body and urged the public to limit the use of salt.
“Salt added to food is a chronic poison that slowly puts up Blood Pressure and is a major cause of death and disability, particularly strokes,” Ravichandran said. He urged the public to reduce the intake of salt and salted products.
Ravichandran was critical of the labelling by companies on snack packets, and urged them to follow the US and UK models. In the US, the snack packets states, no salt added; slightly salted and unsalted.
Similarly, in the UK, like the traffic signal the super market has signpost labelling with three categories for products (per 100 gram) with high (red) with salt at over 1.5 gram; Medium (yellow) with salt between 0.3 gram and 1.5 gram and green (low) with salt between 0.3 gram and below. It is essential to have clear labelling for all foods, including foods eaten outside the home, he said.
Umesh B Khanna, a Consultant Nephrologist & Transplant Physician based in Mumbai, said bad food kills more people than terrorism, yet does not make headlines. Nearly 1.9 million deaths globally were attributable to high-sodium diets in 2019.
High sodium is the dietary risk with the largest impact on health, mainly due to it contribution to cardiovascular disease like ischemic heart disease and hypertensive heart disease. Low consumption of health foods like fruits, vegetables and whole giants puts populations at higher risk of cardiovascular disease, he said.
TS Selva Vinayagam, Director, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Government of Tamil Nadu, non-communicable diseases accounts for nearly 65 per cent of the fatalities/mortalities.
To address this epidemic, there is a need to address the ‘risk factors’ which are modifiable such as salt, sugar and related items. Unless we address these factors, it would not be sustainable for any country to manage the complications due to NCD.
Reducing salt in-take is among the most cost-effective strategies even though it might seem as a simple thing. A global document and strategy that states if you are able to reduce current salt consumption by 30 per cent, there will be a reduction of at least 25 per cent prevalence in hypertension, he said.