How Much Salt Is Too Much? WHO Shares Fresh Guidelines For Limiting Sodium Intake

According to WHO, most people consume twice more than the recommended amount of salt in their diet. Are you too eating too much salt? Find out.

Everything you eat contains salt, which is also referred to as sodium. It is pretty much added to almost every dish or drinks you consume, especially the packaged foods. While consuming sodium is necessary to maintain good health, it can be harmful if you consume too much salt. And according to the World Health Organization (WHO), most people around the world consume more than double the recommended amount of salt. Recently, WHO issued new benchmarks for sodium-based on its sources in local food environments and their steadily increasing salt content.

No More Than 5gm Of Salt Is Recommended

As per WHO, people should not consume more than 5g of sodium daily. Consuming more salt than this can put you at risk of several diseases such as heart diseases and strokes, which has killed more than 3 million people per day. This new set of benchmarks for sodium levels was released in more than 60 categories, including processed and packaged bread, savoury snacks, meat products, cheese and more.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of WHO said in a statement, "Most people don't know how much sodium they consume, or the risks it poses." He further added, "We need countries to establish policies to reduce salt intake and provide people with the information they need to make the right food choices. We also need the food and beverage industry to cut sodium levels in processed foods. WHO's new benchmarks give countries and industry a starting point to review and establish policies to transform the food environment and save lives."

What Happens When You Consume Too Much Sodium?

Salt is one of the main ingredients of most of the foods we eat, and it is necessary to maintain metabolism and help your body maintain normal fluid balance. It is also found naturally in certain foods, but it is present in high amounts in certain foods. Excess sodium in the system can lead to several health complications such as high blood pressure and elevate your risk of heart diseases and stroke. According to the data by WHO, most people consume 9-12 gm of salt every day, which is more than the recommended amount of salt 5 gm.

People with hypertension or high blood pressure are recommended to consume less sodium. Also, the people asked to limit their sodium intake by their doctors should stick to the recommended amount of salt. Even healthy people should not consume too much salt but should not consume too little. However, there needs to be a balance as low sodium intake (below 3 gm) can have a negative impact on your health. Plus, it is believed by the top authorities in the health sector that reducing salt intake is one of the most cost-effective measures that can help countries improve the overall health of the people.