Are you aware of the hidden toxicity of salt in your daily diet?
What is sodium chloride?
Table salt is 40% sodium and 60% chloride. The human body needs salt. Salt helps carry nutrients into cells. It helps regulate other bodily functions such as blood pressure and water balance.
Salt is now known to be the cause of many health problems. Because during the processing, only sodium and chlorine remain in table salt, which are toxic to our body.
Sodium supplements
Table salt is commonly used as a seasoning and preservative in home-cooked foods. However, food manufacturers also add salt to food that is sold to the uninformed public.
Excessive sodium content in salt causes many degenerative diseases. Chloride is almost harmless. The food you eat may not taste salty, but it may contain hidden sodium.
Excessive sodium in food can cause an increase in blood pressure (hypertension), which increases the risk of strokes and heart disease, the two leading causes of death in Malaysia and many developed countries.
There are over forty known sodium supplements. Here is just a short list of additives that are commonly used in commercial products.
Monosodium glutamate, as a flavor enhancer, is present in many packaged foods, canned foods, and restaurant meals. Commonly used in packaged and canned soups, instant noodles, bouillon cubes, condiments, sauces, appetizers, pickles, and canned meats.
Sodium saccharin is an artificial sweetener where sodium does not taste salty but causes the same problems as table salt. Commonly added to diet sodas and diet meals as a sugar substitute.
Sodium pyrophosphate is used as a leavening agent and is added to cakes, donuts, waffles, muffins, sausages and sausages. See? Sodium is not necessarily salty.
Sodium alginate or sodium carboxymethyl cellulose – stabilizer, thickener and color enhancer of products, prevents sugar crystallization. It also increases viscosity and changes texture. Commonly used in drinks, beer, ice cream, chocolate, frozen custard, desserts, pie fillings, health foods, and even baby food.
Sodium benzoate is used as an antimicrobial preservative and is tasteless but enhances the natural taste of foods. Present in margarine, soft drinks, milk, marinades, confectionery, marmalade and jam.
Sodium propionate is used as a preservative, it prolongs the shelf life of food, prevents the development of microorganisms that contribute to food spoilage. Mainly present in all breads, buns, pastries and cakes.
How much sodium do you consume daily?
Consider what you eat and what your child eats. If you eat any of the following, you are in excess of your daily sodium requirement (200 mg) and the allowable allowance of 2400 mg sodium per day. Below is a shocking list of what the typical Malaysian eats.
Instant noodles:
Ina Wan Tan Noodles (16800mg Sodium – 7 RH!) Korean U-Dong Noodles (9330mg Sodium – 3,89 RH) Korean Kimchi Noodles (8350mg Sodium – 3,48 RH) Cintan Mushroom Flavor (8160mg) sodium – 3,4 of the allowable norm) Express noodles (3480 mg of sodium – 1,45 of the allowable norm)
Local favorites:
Nasi Lemak (4020 mg of sodium – 1,68 times the allowable rate) Mamak tee goreng (3190 mg of sodium – 1,33 times the allowable rate) Assam laksha (2390 mg of sodium – 1 allowable rate)
Fast foods: French fries (2580 mg sodium – 1,08 RDA)
Universal Products:
Cocoa powder (950 mg / 5 g) Milo powder (500 mg / 10 g) Corn flakes (1170 mg / 30 g) Buns (800 mg / 30 g) Salted butter and margarine (840 mg / 10 g) Camembert (1410 mg / 25 g) Cheese (1170 mg / 10 g) Danish blue cheese (1420 mg / 25 g) Processed cheese (1360 mg / 25 g)
Impact on health
Each grain of salt in the body can hold 20 times its own weight in water. Our body only needs 200 mg of salt per day to function properly. Excess salt causes many health problems, shortens life expectancy.
High blood pressure. Excess sodium that is not used by the body enters the blood vessels, thickening and constricting them, resulting in high blood pressure. Hypertension can be painless. Most people spend most of their lives generally ignoring the growing force with which blood presses against the walls of blood vessels. Suddenly, the blocked artery ruptures, cutting off the blood supply to the brain. Stroke. If this happens to the artery leading to the heart, death from a heart attack will occur. Too late…
Atherosclerosis. High blood pressure is usually closely associated with atherosclerosis. Fat deposits build up on the walls of the arteries, forming plaques that eventually block blood flow.
Fluid retention. Excessive salt in your blood draws water out of your cells to help neutralize it. This leads to fluid retention, resulting in swelling of the legs, arms, or abdomen.
Osteoporosis. When your kidneys remove excess salt from your body, most of the time they remove calcium as well. This habitual loss of calcium with salt leads to weakening of the bones. If the body does not receive enough calcium to make up for its loss, osteoporosis develops.
Stones in the kidneys. Our kidneys are responsible for regulating the balance of salt and water in our body. When there is excessive sodium intake, increased calcium leaching increases the risk of kidney stones.
Stomach cancer. One of the most common forms of cancer is associated with high salt intake. Salt increases the rate of development of stomach cancer. It eats away at the lining of the stomach and increases the chances of infection with the cancer-causing Helicobacter pylori bacterium. Other health problems associated with excessive salt or sodium intake include:
Cancer of the esophagus Worsens asthma Indigestion Chronic gastritis Premenstrual syndrome Carpal tunnel syndrome Cirrhosis of the liver Irritability Muscle twitching Seizures Brain damage Coma and sometimes even death Source: Consumers Association in Penang, Malaysia and healthyeatingclub.com Healthy Alternative
Instead of table salt or iodized salt, use Celtic sea salt. It contains 84 minerals and trace elements that our body needs. Sea salt is known to lower blood pressure and reduce water retention. It is good for the liver, kidneys and adrenal glands and also helps to stimulate the immune system.
So go buy a bag of sea salt and hide your table salt and iodized salt. Although this salt costs a little more, it is definitely a much healthier option and more economical in the long run.