Did you know that for the typical adult, the body needs no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day to regulate fluids and blood pressure, and to keep muscles and nerves running smoothly? Would you be surprised to hear that on average Canadians consume over 3,000 mg of sodium on a daily basis, thus exceeding the 2,300 mg limit per day? Let’s put this into perspective. Six grams or about one teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 milligrams of sodium.

Excess sodium consumption is causing major health problems. It leads to high blood pressure which causes stroke, heart disease and kidney disease. It is also associated with increased risk of stomach cancer, osteoporosis and asthma.

And you think that you can ditch the salt shaker that sits on your kitchen table and all will be well? Wrong. It’s not nearly enough to bring our sodium intake to the recommended level of the Canada Food Guide. About 75 to 80 % of our salt consumption comes from convenience or pre-packaged frozen and ready-to-eat food. Without even counting the obvious salty chips, or similar snacks, the culprits include pizzas, microwave diners, hotdogs and hamburgers.

Wonder why Canadians consume sodium in unacceptable quantity? Salt has been used as a preservative since the dawn of civilization. It is also used to add flavour to food. The fight is on between the food industry and the medical community. Medical experts are seeking more urgent solution to address the problem while industry wants to reduce the salt content slowly, making sure the reduction is gradual for the consumer.

Would the reduction of salt compromise food safety? It hasn’t proven to be the case in Britain. In 2002, they embarked on reducing sodium consumption by 40% over a decade. It is well on its way to meet this target. Why can’t we do the same!

Would we miss salt? Of course we would at first. However it doesn’t take long for our taste buds to get accustom to real food.

For some, large amount of salt is poison. Sodium is a hidden, silent killer and is contributing to unnecessary deaths.

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