Salt in your diet
Australians eat 9gms of salt a day, on average – more than twice the suggested daily target of 4gms, says Jacqui Webster, spokesperson for AWASH, the Australian Division of World Action on Salt and Health.
"Only 10 to 15% of salt is added during cooking and on the table," she says. "The rest is hidden in food; bread is one of the biggest contributors to salt in the diet. The bread and cereal categories together constitute a huge proportion of salt contributors, with processed meats coming up second and snacks and chips all containing large amounts of salt.
"We focus on the link between salt and high blood pressure. Salt is one of the biggest contributors to high blood pressure, which contributes to premature death and disability, as a result of heart disease and stroke.
"People need to be made aware of the fact that salt contributes to high blood pressure. So pharmacists could talk to people having their blood pressure monitored, and encourage them to take their GPs' advice on diet.
"Whether or not they also take hypertensive medicine, they can still reduce the amount of salt in their diet. The most obvious way is to reduce the amount of processed foods they eat and instead eat much more fresh fruit and vegetables, and of course, that has a whole raft of other health benefits."
She says that when counselling patients with hypertension, pharmacists can help talk about the importance of reading food labels in an effort to reduce salt intake.
This is a theme for this year's Salt Awareness Week (10-16 March), which will promote switching from higher-salt products to those containing less salt.
"Health professionals should be using this opportunity to promote the health benefits of eating less salt," says Ms Webster.
More information: www.awash.org.au
Reproduced from AJP on Friday 21/2/14
