Less sodium and more potassium in the diet are the main recommendations of the World Health Organization in the prevention of, among others. hypertension. Are the recommended values attainable and effective?
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A maximum of 2000 mg of sodium, which is a flat teaspoon of salt, and a minimum of 3510 mg of potassium – this amount is recommended by the World Health Organization to help reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. However, meeting these assumptions is extremely difficult.
Salt is one of the most important triggers of high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks and stomach cancer. Reducing salt consumption by 3 g / day reduces the incidence of cardiovascular diseases by 5,9 – 9,6%, stroke by 5 – 7,8%, and overall mortality by 2,6 – 4,1%.
The salt itself causes problems. Even if we do not add it ourselves during the preparation of meals, we can find a lot of it in bread, cold meats, cheese and even spreadable cheese. Not to mention processed, ready-made meals and semi-finished products. WHO data shows that in individual countries processed products food sources are 40-80 percent. salt of our diet. For example:
- 100 g of sera typu feta — 2,75 g of salt
- 100 g of pickled herring – 2,73 g of salt
- 100 g of country ham – 2,57 g of salt
- 100 g keczupu — 2,4 g soli
- 100 g of bread – about 1 g of salt on average
Researchers at the Center for Public Health Nutrition analyzed research conducted by the governments of France, Mexico, Great Britain and the United States. It turned out that only 0,3 percent at best. Americans met WHO recommendations. The French did a little better – 0,5 percent. Mexicans and Brits worse – 0,15 percent respectively. and 1 percent The situation in Poland is also not better. According to the Food and Nutrition Institute, sA tatistic Pole consumes almost 11 g of salt every day, which is more than twice as much as provided by the WHO recommendations. These data confirm that we eat too much sodium and too little potassium, and the values proposed by WHO and other institutions are completely unfeasible. Moreover, scientists say that it is almost unrealistic nowadays that in any country at least half of the population would follow these recommendations.
Recent studies show that excessive salt intake can also cause overweight and obesity. Consuming more of it increases thirst, which in turn causes us to drink more drinks, often those that are sweetened.
The situation is not better with regard to potassium as well. To achieve the recommended amount 3510 mg per day you would need, for example, to eat about six potatoes or drink 9 cups of milk. And that’s not the end of the problem. Lots of foods rich in potassium too a source of sodium, e.g. milk contains sodium and potassium. So the circle is closed.
Another problem is the cost of such a diet. To increase the amount of potassium, we should buy more greens, citrus, fish. The estimates carried out for the purposes of the analyzes indicate that it will inevitably entail an increase in food expenditure for many families.
Changing the composition of foods to lower sodium is one strategy to reduce sodium intake. Therefore, the matter should be looked at globally. Achieving the nutritional recommendations in this acidity in individual action is almost unrealistic. However, you should pay attention to the salt content in the food you eat, so that the amount of sodium in the diet is as low as possible. The most important tips on how to do this are presented in a separate article.
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