Salt by any other name

MANY salt products come in gourmet-sounding names and are often found in high-end stores. Clinical dietician Ashley Barrient of Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery & Bariatric Care, warns that table salt and sea salt have an equivalent amount of sodium even as sea salt is said to be less processed. “Typically people opt for natural vs. processed to avoid preservatives such as sodium, but in this case, all salt is sodium,” she says.

Ms Barrient says quite a number of healthy adults may think monitoring or lowering salt content doesn’t apply to them. “Many of us have a genetic predisposition for certain diseases or conditions,” she says. “Lowering our sodium intake along with other positive dietary and lifestyle factors can be a proactive measure to prevent or delay the onset of certain conditions and improve management of such conditions long term.” Chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and osteoporosis are a few of the conditions that are worsened by high sodium intake.

The body requires a small amount of sodium in the diet to control blood pressure and blood volume, but most individuals are not at risk of consuming a diet that is too low in sodium. “From a health standpoint, sea salt and table salt should both be minimised and reserved for small indulgences here and there,” she says.

Many packaged and prepared foods have a large amount of sodium.  “The more we cook at home, use fresh herbs and spices as opposed to processed, and visit farmers’ markets to buy fresh ingredients, the lower our sodium intake will be as a whole,” says Ms Barrient.