Is salt turning deadly for life? WHO warns against consumption of dietary sodium

In the second edition reportofsodium benchmarks for various food categories, theWorld Health Organization (WHO) raised the alarm overtheconsumption of salt.

As per the report, among the estimated 8 million people who are dying because of poor diet globally, nearly two million are losing lives due to high sodium intake.

An increased consumption of dietary sodium in a healthy body increases blood pressure and also the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Sodium -which isthe main component in salt- has health benefitswhichincludemaintainingplasma volume in the blood and ensuring normal cell function.

However, excess sodium increases the risk of hypertension and can also lead to stroke and heart problems.

"When most people think of salt,“deadly”doesn’tcome to mind. Yet nearly a million people globally die every year from heart attacks, strokes and kidney disease caused byeating too muchsalt,"stated theWHO,in the report.

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Not only heartdiseases,butexcess consumption of sodium also leads to conditions likegastric cancer, obesity, liver disease and chronickidney disease.

Sodium is present in various manufactured products like packaged products, processed meats, bread and some dairy products.

According to the recommendations of the WHO, people need to consume less than 5 grams of salt (less than 2 grams of sodium) every day, which means that the average intake of the population needs to be below that level.

How does excessive salt increase blood pressure?

The excessive consumption of salt has a very detrimental impact on the blood pressure.

Sodium attracts water. Hence, when too much saltis consumed, our body retains water to dilute it.Thisincreases the blood volume and eventually raises blood pressure.

High blood pressure slowly strains the heart, arteries, as well as other organs and increasesthe risk of stroke, heart disease and kidney problems.

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Hypertension or high blood pressure is amajorreason for cardiovascular diseases. The wallsof arteries are damaged and become narrower and less flexible due to hypertension, whichin turnincreases the pressure on the heart.

Such increased pressure on the heart leads to conditions likecoronary artery disease, heart attack, and heart failure.

(With inputs from agencies)