Salt It Right - For a Healthy Heart

"World Heart Day" is organized by the World Heart Federation and supported by the World Health Organization. It is held on the last Sunday in September every year. This year it will be held on September 24. It aims to increase public awareness on heart disease and stroke, as well as promote their prevention by the reduction of related risk factors. One of such risk factors is excess dietary salt intake.

Sodium is an essential mineral for the body and salt is an important source of sodium. However, we very often take in more salt than what we actually need. In general, an adult needs only about 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of salt daily. Excess salt intake in our diet increases the risk of hypertension, heart disease and stroke.

What the figures say

• Cardiovascular diseases claim some 17 million lives worldwide every year.
• According to the Population Health Survey 2003/2004 of the Department of Health, 30% of men aged 15 or above suffered from hypertension.
• Heart disease and cerebrovascular disease were the second and fourth killer diseases respectively for Hong Kong men in 2004.
• A local study earlier this year showed that among men who cooked, about 70% of them tended to use instant noodles, canned or processed food, and cook more spicy foods.

Avoiding excess salt intake is an important preventive measure for reducing the risk of hypertension, heart disease and stroke. You can do so by choosing and cooking your foods smartly.

Choose smart

• Choose your food smartly - about 70% of dietary salt intake comes from processed food

Beware of:

• Processed food such as ham, sausage, Chinese sausage, salty fish and salty eggs
• Canned or instant food such as canned soup and instant noodles
• Preserved and salted vegetables

• Salty snacks such as chips and salted nuts

Better choices:

•  Fresh meat
•  Unsalted or low-salt snacks such as dried fruits and unsalted nut

• Read the food labels - find out the low-salt choices

Cook smart

• Salt it smartly - use less salt when cooking and do not add table salt when dining
• Choose and use seasonings smartly

Beware of:

• Strong and spicy sauces and seasonings such as oyster sauce, bean curd sauce, chicken stock or powder and monosodium glutamate (MSG)

Better choices:

• Natural seasonings or low-salt ingredients such as garlic, shallot, ginger, vinegar and lemon juice

You may wish to visit the relevant sections in this website for further tips on healthy eating, and more information on hypertension, heart disease and stroke.

(Last Updated on 20-09-2006)