Food is medicine.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

These wise words were famously spoken by Greek physician, Hippocrates, who is known today by both allopathic, as well as natural medicine practitioners as “The Father of Medicine”. He is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the history of medicine and healing. Hippocrates advised people to prevent and treat diseases first and foremost by eating a diet rich in nutrients and leading a healthy lifestyle. To this day, Unani Tibb practitioners practice this as our first line of treatment with any patient. With this in mind, and in light of International Salt awareness week, we intend to raise public awareness of the damaging effects that too much salt can have on our health and ways in which we can prevent this from happening.

Many people are aware that eating too much salt is bad for their health, but think that it’s only a cause for concern in the later years. This isn’t true, as eating too much salt during childhood already may increase blood pressure, which then tracks into adulthood and later life, increasing the risk of strokes and heart attacks. That’s why it’s so important to reduce salt intake across all ages. By doing so we can reduce our risk of heart disease and avoid the unnecessary healthcare costs and burdens associated with treatment.

How much salt is recommended?

Many people do not realise that they are eating too much salt. The World Health Organisation recommends that adults eat less than 5g of salt (1 teaspoon) a day. However, cutting down on your salt intake by just two grams per day will already reduce your risk of cardiovascular complications by 20%!

Controlling the amount of salt you eat may be a bit of a challenging task. Not all foods that contain salt actually taste salty, and people could be unaware that they are even consuming salt. Reducing your salt intake can also be tricky as a lot of prepared food already contains salt, which cannot be taken out.

Most of the salt in our diet (up to 60% of it!) is found in processed foods, and the main culprits are our favourites such as margarine, butter spreads, stock cubes, soup powders, breakfast cereals, bread and savoury snacks. The remaining 40% of salt in the diet is added at the table.

Unani Tibb Clinic: call 201 959 2703 for an appointment

Myth Truth :

I don’t add any salt to my food so I know I don’t eat too much

About 75% of the salt we eat is already in everyday foods such as bread, cheese and sauces, so most of us are eating too much salt without even realizing.

I don’t have high blood pressure so I don’t need to eat less salt

The risk of disease starts within the healthy range of blood pressure, so most people will benefit from eating less salt. Also blood pressure increases with age, putting us at risk of disease, but with a low salt diet the rise in blood pressure doesn’t occur.

I only use sea salt and that’s healthier than table salt

Rock and sea salts are just as high in sodium chloride as table salt so are just as bad for our health, regardless of their healthy image.

You can tell when a food is salty because it tastes salty

Some foods that are high in salt don't taste particularly salty. Breakfast cereals, bread, jarred sauces and biscuits & cakes can all contain hidden salt.

Food with less salt tastes bland After 3 weeks of less salt your taste buds will become more sensitive so you get the same flavour from less salt.

Take it with a pinch of salt! The truth behind a few salty myths:

While cutting down on our salt intake may seem like a task next to impossible for many of us right now, the World Action on Salt & Health (WASH) campaign has helped us out by providing us with a list of 6 simple actions that we can take to reduce the amount of salt we consume every day.

What we eat What we should eat Processed meat: polony, viennas, cold meats, hamburger patties, beef and pork sausages

Unprocessed chicken, meat or fish, meatballs or other mince dishes.

Canned fish, dried fish and smoked fish Fresh or frozen fish products

Salty spreads e.g cheese spreads, peanut butter, fish paste, salted butter

Cottage cheese, natural peanut butter, yoghurt, unsalted butter

Cheeses with a high salt content, e.g. Parmesan and Feta cheese

Cheddar, Gouda, Brie, Mozzarella, or Ricotta in small amounts

Breakfast cereals, Instant oats and porridges, soup powders, instant noodles

Unprocessed rolled oats, vegetable/meat broth, whole-grain pastas

Salty snacks including chips, salty biscuits, biltong, salted nuts, salted popcorn, olives or

pickles

Unsalted cracker breads, rice cakes unsalted nuts, seeds and popcorn. More fresh fruits and vegetables.

Fast food and variety of breads Home-cooked meals, starchy vegetables and Low GI carbohydrates e.g rice, baked potato, sweet potato

etc.

Here is a list of commonly eaten foods that are high is sodium as well as a list of healthier alternatives for

some easy swap outs