WATCH THAT SALT INTAKE!

Good morning my lovelies! OMG! What a sexy weather we have today (all rainy and all)!

You may wonder "Why all the hype about salt and how much you and your loved ones consume?" Wonder not again. Salt intake has been directly linked to hypertension (high blood pressure), as well as stroke, heart failure, osteoporosis, stomach cancer and kidney disease. And now, it's not only adults that are affected, even children. So if you know you love yourself and your family, let's join hand and change our lifestyle, starting with the salt consumption. Charity, they say, begins at home.

The normal cooking salt which is the table salt, contains sodium chloride (NaCl), the Na being our main concern. Na increases blood pressure because it makes excess fluid to be retained in the body, thereby creating an added burden to your heart.

Na is contained in about 75% of food we eat from processed foods and foods we buy from 'Bukas' and eatries.

It may interest you to know that the American Heart Association (which is our standard) recommends a healthy daily dose of not more than 1,500mg of Na. But most people unknowingly or knowingly consume more than 3,400mg a day. You are slowly killing yourself and your family O!

Some people may ask "Can we then use Maggi/Knorr instead of ordinary salt?" I won't lie, I don't know. All I know is that, Maggi/Knorr contain salt already. So personally, I prefer to use Knorr or Maggi cubes to cook rather than table salt. To me, these are 'flavoured salt'! *Hehehe* I don't mix the two, that is, Knorr and table salt. Good salts sold in the market these days are fortified with Iodine and Vitamin A (I am not going to mention names of these good salts, since I am not being paid to do so!).

Here are a list of 'accused' foods that we and our children feast on, that contain high levels of Na, so you may want to watch the quantity you consume:
- Indomie Noodles (highly accused. Kids just love it. You may want to limit their intake of it to twice a week instead of daily)
- Smoked fish (Mothers in the house!)
- Ketchup
- Breakfast Cereals
- Potato Chips (potato not cooked in its natural state)
- sausage or bacon or ham
- canned foods in brine (Yuk! I hate brine)

But if you have 'sinned', you may want to reduce the level of Na in your body with the following healthy meals:
- Boiled sweet potato
- Green veggies
- Spinach
- Bananas, Apples, Orange
- Peas, Beans
- Tomatoes,  Cucumber
- Raisins
These foods mentioned contain the mineral Potassium (k) that counteracts the effect of sodium in the body.

Now, if you want to know how to measure the amount of Na in salt, here is a guide (according to the gospel of Oyibo people) but me, I don't know how realistic or feasible this measurements are. Only God can help us!

1/4 teaspoon salt = 600mg

1/2 teaspoon salt= 1,200mg

3/4 teaspoon salt = 1,800mg

1 teaspoon salt = 2,300mg

Hian O!

Another thing we can do is to learn to read 'Nutritional Facts' food labels. If you don't know how to interpret what you read, look for people like us (We don't charge much) *smacking my lips*

Transfer that knowledge you have gained to your children or loved ones. As long as they can talk and make conversation, your children will understand.

Let's try and help ourselves O!