This month, the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa (HSFSA) is asking people to cut down on salt to reduce high blood pressure.
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The campaign aligns with The World Action on Salt, Sugar and Health (WASSH), for Salt Awareness Week (SAW). World Hypertension Day, on 17 May, falls within the week that SAW is being commemorated globally. The World Hypertension League champions it.
This year’s theme, ‘Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer’, underscores the importance of measuring blood pressure accurately to control hypertension-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
The Foundation’s Health Promotion Programme Lead, Sister Juandre Watson, says it is important to remember what a blood pressure measurement is: the force exerted by circulating blood against the walls of the body’s arteries.
It is written in two numbers; the first (systolic) number indicates the pressure in the blood vessels when the heart beats. The second (Diastolic) number indicates the pressure in the vessels when the heart rests between beats.
The ideal blood pressure measurement is 120/80 mmHg. Hypertension (high blood pressure) indicates a high-than-normal pressure on repeated measurements, whereby the systolic blood pressure is over 140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure is more than 90 mmHg.
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Hypertension can lead to heart, brain and kidney diseases, among others.
According to the HSFSA, a ‘hypertensive crisis’ or emergency could be life-threatening as it could damage essential organs and cause severe complications such as a heart attack, stroke or loss of kidney function.
If you or anyone you know experience the following symptoms, call an ambulance immediately:
- Chest pain
- Dizziness
- Changes in vision
- Difficulty speaking
- Shortness of breath
Cutting down on salt intake is an effective way to lower blood pressure and enhance overall health. Foods naturally contain salt, which means that adding salt could cause some people to unintentionally consume far more salt per day than needed (exceeding the WHO’s recommendation of 5g or one level teaspoon).
If population salt intake was reduced to 5g per day, about 1.65 million deaths from CVD could be prevented.
This year, the ‘Measure Your Blood Pressure Accurately, Control It, Live Longer’ theme calls on the food industry, including food companies, fast food outlets and restaurants, to be transparent about which ingredients are used in the food items sold to the public.
HSFSA CEO, Professor Pamela Naidoo, says the best way for companies to do this is to display accurate information on the front of pack labels.
Prof Naidoo also urges the public and consumers to ensure they understand food labels to tell healthy and unhealthy choices apart.
The HSFSA also notes that up to 80% of heart diseases and strokes can occur before the age of 70. This can be prevented by adopting healthy behaviours and treating and preventing conditions such as high blood pressure.
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Excessive salt intake pulls water into the blood vessels, thereby increasing the amount of blood in them. When more blood flows through the vessels, blood pressure rises, making the heart work harder to pump blood through the body.
HSFSA dietitian, Kinza Hussain, gives the following tips on understanding nutritional tables:
- All nutrients are listed in two columns: per 100g and per serving. The 100g column can be used to compare similar products as individual serves may differ.
- The ‘per serving’ column indicates how much of each nutrient and energy (kilojoules) you’ll consume if you consume the suggested serving.
- Remember that the ‘suggested serving’ is not always the same as the packaging size.
- Products which contain less than 120mg of salt or sodium per 100g of food are low in salt and can be eaten often.
- Products which contain more than 600mg of sodium or salt per 100g are high in salt and should be avoided.
- Ingredients are always listed in order of weight – greatest first, followed by those used in smaller amounts.
- The first three ingredients listed on the label typically make up the largest portion of the food item.
- Salt can be listed under different names, including baking soda, salt, MSG (monosodium glutamate) and any word containing the term sodium, nitrate or nitrite.
Companies that meet the criteria for the HSFSA’s Heart Mark (HM) Endorsement Programme have the associated logo on the product’s packaging. The HM logo can be easily identified as the iconic heart with a knife and fork on either side, accompanied by the ‘Approved as part of the Heart and Stroke Foundation Eating Plan’ phrase.
Products with this logo have gone through strict analysis and are guaranteed to be lower in added sugars, salt and saturated fat, and are higher in fibre.
Other public health interventions, such as front-of-pack labelling (FOPL) and legislation are also used to reduce salt consumption.
In 2020, the World Heart Federation (WHF) released a policy brief on FOPL. FOPL is used to quickly inform consumers about a product’s nutritional value or warn them about products high in added sugars, total fat, saturated fats, trans fats, and sodium.
These details are typically associated with top-risk factors for the most burdensome diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure, high fasting plasma glucose, overweight and obesity.
The HSFSA believes that the FOPL system should be aligned with national public health and nutrition policies and food regulations, as well as with relevant WHO guidance and Codex guidelines, and that a single system should be developed to improve the impact of the FOPL system.
South Africa is the first country to develop comprehensive and mandatory legislation to reduce sodium levels in various processed food categories.
As per the HSFSA, the country’s salt reduction model has inspired the world, resulting in more than 90 countries implementing salt-reduction policies according to the WHO guidelines.
South Africa’s legislation had a phased approach, whereby a maximum content target had to be reached by June 2016, followed by a further reduction that had to be reached by the end of June 2019. The next target is a 30% reduction in salt intake by 2025.
For more information visit heartfoundation.co.za.
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