Eating more salt

 To understand the relationship of salt to physical problems, a long-term study has been carried out in thirty-two countries around the world since 1995. Among these countries, there were China, Japan, the United States as well as ours. The amount of salt was regularly measured in the food and urine of the ten selected people under study. Daily blood pressure levels were also measured. This study called the ‘Inter-salt Study’ has shown the dangerous effects of excess salt in the body.

It has been found that people of those countries eating more salt are more likely to suffer coronary heart disease or cerebral stroke than the other countries. It has been reported that potassium has a beneficial role in preventing excess of sodium in the body. Increase of the proportion of sodium and potassium in the body increases the problems mentioned earlier, decreases if the ratio decreases. Most fresh fruits, cereals, pulses, etc. have enough potassium. If these foods are taken regularly especially a bit of fresh seasonal fruit, the effect of sodium is somewhat diminished in the body. Decreases the risk of hypertension, heart attack or stroke.

Another large-scale survey was conducted in England in 2000- 2001 to find the relationship of blood pressure and other problems with dietary sodium. It was found in that survey that blood pressure increases very low in the people’s body accustomed to consume more fresh vegetables, fresh fruits and low fat milk-yogurt-chhana in comparison to other people. By eating this kind of food, less salt enters the body and there is more excretion of salt than others from the body through urine. Stroke or heart attack is relatively low in people who are consumed with such foods due to low blood pressure.