Halt the Salt

Like many people, David Ridd is learning that too much salt can lead to high blood pressure and other health problems, including heart attack and stroke. Now, he is one of a growing number of Canadians who are keeping an eye on their sodium intake.

By Judy Owen

There's nothing David Ridd liked to do more than pull into a fast-food restaurant and treat himself and his grandson to some french fries.

The deep-fried, salty potato strips could be hard to resist.

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But Ridd and his fries parted ways after he suffered a mild heart attack last spring. His concern was he had too much salt in his diet.

"If we go in, I don't get the fries anymore," Ridd says of his now-rare trips with his grandson, Austin, to fast-food joints. "I try to avoid (those restaurants). I know I can't do it anymore. It's a risk to my health."

That risk is one that many Canadians are taking each day by consuming food with too much sodium, the chemical element found in common salt.

Research has shown that Canadian adults consume an estimated average of 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day. That's more than double the amount most experts recommend to maintain good health.

Health Canada says the recommended adequate intake for anyone over the age of one year is 1,500 mg a day. The upper limit (the highest average daily intake level that likely poses no health risks) is 2,300 mg a day.

While salt is needed to balance the fluid in our bodies and maintain good health, too much sodium can trigger a wide range of health problems.

"In terms of public health, high sodium levels are the most harmful factor in our diet," says Kevin Willis of the Canadian Stroke Network, a coalition of health-care professionals and scientists that raises awareness about sodium consumption.

Blood Pressure Canada, another group concerned about the effects of salt, reports that dietary sodium is a leading contributor to hypertension (high blood pressure), which affects an estimated 25 per cent of Canadians. Hypertension increases the risk for a number of chronic conditions, including stroke, heart attack, kidney disease and congestive heart failure. Indeed, one recent study estimated that high dietary sodium was the seventh leading cause of preventable death in the United States. In Canada, it is estimated that 23,000 heart attacks and strokes could be prevented each year if people consumed less sodium, according to Willis. The Canadian Stroke Network also estimates that high sodium consumption is responsible for as many 30 preventable deaths in Canada each day. And, Blood Pressure Canada estimates a reduction in sodium intake could decrease hypertension by 30 per cent, and save Canada's health-care system about $1.7 billion a year.

The mounting evidence linking high sodium consumption to increased health risks has resulted in a push by government and health organizations to halt the salt. Blood Pressure Canada and the Canadian Stroke Network, for example, have joined federal government officials and grocery product manufacturers in discussing ways to reduce the amount of salt in foods we buy. In addition, Canadians are being encouraged to be mindful of the amount of salt consumed when eating out at restaurants or cooking at home.

But reducing salt levels isn't always easy, especially for grocery manufacturers. In addition to being important to good health, salt affects the taste and texture of food. It's also needed for preserving some food so it's safe to eat. In the end, it's all about finding a balance that's healthy and tasty.

Ridd, 65, has been reducing the amount of salt in his diet ever since his wife, a retired lab technologist, began analyzing what they ate about five years ago.

He wasn't a big user of salt, but he was overweight so they started reading nutrition labels on products to see how much fat and salt they contained. "My biggest deal was looking at the labels and being really surprised at the sodium count in different products," says Ridd, who worked 35 years for Revenue Canada's Customs and Excise. "It's unbelievable."

While the couple always included a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet, they are now adding new ones to the list, including bok choi, more green and red peppers, squash, and sweet potatoes. David and Dorothy are also using more herbs in their food preparations today. When they do go out to eat, David avoids soup, which is usually high in salt. He'll also order more vegetables and salads, with dressing on the side.

Not wanting to give up his french fries totally, he tried asking for them without salt, but that didn't work. "You can't get away from it," Ridd says. "It's in a bin and they're always putting the seasoning on it. You ask for it (without salt), sure they try, but it's in that bin and it's always got salt on it. I just don't bother (eating them) anymore."

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Wave is published six times a year by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority in cooperation with the Winnipeg Free Press. It is available at newsstands, hospitals and clinics throughout Winnipeg, as well as McNally Robinson Books.