High salt intake might double risk of heart failure

Doctors say that table salt or sodium chloride is one of the biggest sources of sodium in our diets. It is made up of 40 per cent sodium and 60 per cent chloride. Dr Tilak Suvarna, senior interventional cardiologist says, "Sodium is a mineral that is essential for life. It helps to control our body's fluid balance, assists in sending nerve impulses and affects muscle function."

Cardiologists say that while we do need sodium in our diet to help regulate fluids in the body, the amount of salt we actually eat in a day is far more than we require.

"It's the excess of sodium that's the problem in relation to blood pressure. When there's extra sodium in our bloodstream, it attracts water into our blood vessels, increasing the total amount of blood flowing inside, leading to a hike in blood pressure," says Dr Suvarna.

There is very convincing evidence in the form of studies and research done in our country and abroad, which has shown that regularly eating too much salt puts us at increased risk of developing high blood pressure. It is the main cause of strokes and also a major cause of heart attacks and heart failures — the most common causes of death and illness in the world.

Why you need to stop having excess salt
"Even if one does not have high blood pressure, eating less sodium can help blunt the rise in blood pressure that occurs with age, and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke," says Dr Santosh Kumar Dora, senior cardiologist.

Eating less salt has also been shown to reduce the risk of kidney disease, osteoporosis, stomach cancer and even headaches. The extra water in our body can also lead to bloating and weight gain.

High salt intake can be very harmful
"So far, high salt intake has been associated with increased risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease and stroke. No such association has been seen for heart failure. In fact, there have been conflicting reports with some studies suggesting an association between dietary sodium intake with fluid retention and risk for hospitalisation, whereas other studies, however, have signalled a worsening of heart failure with sodium restriction," says Dr Suvarna.

There is now enough evidence to start taking action to reduce salt intake globally, which could include legislation and education, alongside collaboration with the food industry, say cardiologists in the city.

Beware! Salt ups the risk of heart ailments

"A recent study has found that those who consumed more than 14 grams of salt per day had two times higher risk of heart failure compared to those consuming less than seven grams per day, independent of other risk factors," says Dr Dora.

Keep in mind...

• About 77 per cent of the sodium we consume comes from packaged or prepared foods. The rest of the sodium in our diet occurs naturally in food (about 12 per cent) or is added by us during cooking or while eating our meals (about 11 per cent). So, even if you are not using a salt shaker, you're probably getting too much sodium.
• Most of the sodium that we eat is in our food before we buy it, so, many people unfortunately don't realise that they are eating too much salt. Thus, it makes it hard for people to limit how much sodium they are eating.
• Dr Suvarna says, "It is recommended that we should eat no more than six gm of salt a day, which is about a teaspoon. For people with high blood pressure, the recommendation is less four gm of salt which is about 2/3rd of a teaspoon."

DID YOU KNOW?

The World Health Organization recommends salt intake to be a maximum of five gms/ day for a normal person. The daily physiological need is around two to three gms/day.