Dubai: You may think that not adding salt to your food will help control high blood pressure, but there are food which have hidden salts such as your morning toast.
Breads and rolls have more than twice the amount of sodium than junk food like chips, an American study warns.
Surprisingly, salty snacks are on the bottom of the list of food items which are the top sources of sodium, according to a study by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A Dubai-based doctor said he was not sure whether breads are more saltier, but he noted that people tend to eat bread more than chips and there lies the danger. "You get bread rolls as appetisers [in restaurants] garlic breads [in pizza parlours]..."
But why is salt dangerous? If you are already hypertensive too much salt will lead to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and in the long-run, your kidney will shut down, said Dr Lalit Uchil, specialist in internal medicine at Welcare Ambulatory Care Centre.
He says hypertension is very common in the UAE, and the risk factors we all know: smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, and stress, whether at work or due to financial or relationship pressures.
Apparently, white, sliced bread has that killer salt and it is the fastest selling bread variety in the country, after Arabic bread. But salt is important in baking bread. Salt helps the yeast to rise and it also affects the texture of the crust. Bakers say that without salt, bread will taste bland.
Proper labels
But British experts want to cut down the amount of salt in bread and ensure that it is clearly labelled. They also want bakeries to reduce the amount of salt to 1gm per 100gm.
Not surprisingly many of the white, sliced breads available in Dubai have no proper labels, unlike brown breads which lists down the ingredients used.
Shakeer a bakery supervisor says that white bread is the fastest seller. He said that he adds 10gm for every kilo of dough.
That apparently, is the standard followed in every bakery.
Some bakeries also makes breads without salt, or diet bread for people with diabetes. Yasmine Haddad, a dietician at Live'ly, says that too much salt in your diet could also lead to water retention and can affect bone health, meaning that in the long run your bones could lose their density and become brittle.
She said we are making our children addicted to salt and noted how fast food establishments add more salt to make food tastier. She advises against giving cold cuts to children such as processed meats in school lunches.
Dr Safeek Ali, a dietician at Welcare Hospital, believes that you should restrict your salt intake to 5 to 6 gms daily, that's about a teaspoon. He also warns against tinned foods, which have lots of salt as preservative, ketchup and sauces.
The CDC recommends no more than 2,300mg of sodium a day. It notes that certain people, such as those with high blood pressure, should eat even less. But average sodium consumption in the US is around 3,300mg.
Welcare's Uchil says the trick is not to add salt at the table. "Most of the fresh and natural foods do not have salt," he notes.
While British manufacturers have already reduced the sodium content in bread, there is very little knowledge among consumers in the UAE on what salt does to you in the long run.
A recent study showed that most residents are unaware of the health risks they are taking daily by eating wrong.
Food for thought
- 450 and 1,050mg: 3 ounces of luncheon meat
- 1 ounce bag of potato chips: 50 to 200mg
- Ill effects of excessive salt:
- Raise blood pressure (BP) n Can lead to heart attack/stroke
- Long-term effect is kidney failure
- Recommended daily intake of salt
- Adults: 1 teaspoon
- Children: Less than a teaspoon
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