By Chantalé Fletcher
LIMIT daily salt intake to one teaspoon per day which is about 2,300 milligrammes of sodium.
This was the message from County Medical Officer of Health for County Caroni Dr Jeanine St Bernanrd, who spoke at the Ministry of Health virtual press conference on Wednesday.
She said, “However if you have hypertension or blood pressure, your goal for the day would not be one tsp.
“Your goal would be to aim for less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.”
Dr St Bernard shared some tips to reduce the risk of hypertension and salt intake in light of World Salt Awareness Week being observed from March 14 to 20, 2022
She stated people should read the labels on foods when they visit the supermarket, to see how much sodium are in them.
Dr St Bernard said, “If you are looking to improve blood pressure and heart health, then aim for less than 1,000 milligrammes of sodium per day.”
She advised people to eat fresh vegetables and fruits and also to buy fresh meat and poultry to factor into their daily living.
Dr St Bernard said, “In having fresh fruits and vegetables, it means you are not consuming foods pumped full of sodium, but you are consuming and controlling the amount of sodium by starting with fresh and then by adding how much salt you want to the meal.”
Another tip was to reduce or avoid packaged and processed foods, as this would also reduce the amount of sodium consumed, which would give people a fighting chance, she said.
Dr St Bernard said more effort should be made to cook more food at home to help control the sodium intake.
She said, “When we have a lot of salt, it places pressure on the kidneys, which then have to retain fluid.
“When we keep a lot of fluid in our body, it makes our arteries thick and hard and makes the blood pressure go up.”
Dr St Bernard recommended the use of herbs, spices and other forms of seasoning to flavour foods instead of salt.
She encouraged persons to reduce their sugar intake, become more active, drink water and know their health status by visits to the doctor or pharmacies to check blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and check for other Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
