Salt consumption can cause millions of deaths before 2030, here's why?

The World Health Organization states that to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases resulting from excessive sodium intake, salt intake should be limited to 5 grams, or about one teaspoon, a day. The World Health Organisation, in its first global report on reducing sodium intake, says most deaths are from cardiovascular diseases linked to excessive sodium intake. The WHO predicted that 7 million people could die from diseases caused by excessive salt consumption before the end of the decade.
According to the report, the highest consumption of salt is in China. A Chinese person consumes about 10.9 grams of salt per day. India is at number 6 in terms of per capita consumption of 10 grams per day and a large number of deaths can occur.

How much salt is enough

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an adult person should not consume more than 2 grams of sodium daily. The main source of sodium is salt. The salt we eat is sodium chloride. It contains 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride. That is, if we consume 5 grams of salt daily, then roughly it will contain 2 grams of sodium. This much salt is enough for us. But on average people eat 9 to 12 grams of salt daily. Due to the excessive use of salt, 30 lakh people die directly and indirectly. WHO says that if there is a slight reduction in the consumption of salt, millions of lives can be saved every year.

These harmful effects are caused by excessive consumption of salt

According to Harvard Medical Research, when the amount of sodium starts increasing in the body, then extra pressure starts on the kidney. Sodium reaches the veins of the blood and starts creating pressure. Additional water is needed to flush out this sodium from the blood. If the amount of sodium remains high in the blood continuously, then water will also remain continuously in the veins of the blood. This will keep the blood thin. The result of all this will be that the volume of both blood and fluid will increase. When the volume of blood is high, there will be more pressure on the heart, due to which the blood pressure will become high and there will be additional pressure on the veins of the blood. This will increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure manifold. It has been claimed in some studies that if the amount of sodium remains in the blood continuously, then the kidney can also be damaged and it can also cause damage to the bones.

Also read: What happens to your body when you cut down on your salt and sugar consumption?