Nutrition and other health experts said many Nigerians are exceeding the recommended daily salt intake, noting that this may be a major reason for the increasing incidence of hypertension in the country.
Efforts of the country to reduce the huge burden of hypertension, kidney diseases and other health conditions, they said, must include a policy framework to address the problem of high blood pressure, stressing that the health condition is linked to high salt consumption.
The experts, Principal Dietician at Ajeromi General Hospital, Lagos, Olusola Malomo; and a clinical pharmacist based in Asaba, Delta State, Dr. Kingsley Amibor, said the government should commence broad strategies for salt reduction in foods consumed by Nigerians because of the explosion of hypertension cases.
Recall that the World Health Organisation had, in a recent bulletin, warned that high sodium consumption and insufficient potassium intake was fuelling high blood pressure and increasing the incidence of heart disease and stroke.
The WHO, while recommending that personal daily salt intake should not exceed five grammes, said that reducing salt intake has been identified as one of the most cost-effective measures countries can take to improve health outcomes.
“Salt is the primary source of sodium and increased consumption of sodium is associated with hypertension and increased risk of heart disease and stroke,” WHO said.
Speaking with PUNCH Healthwise in an interview, Malomo, who is also the National Publicity Secretary of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, said most Nigerians are not keeping to the safe range of daily salt intake.
“No, we are not keeping to it. The maximum daily safe range for salt intake is equivalent to about six grams [one tablespoon]. It is the safe range for an individual, but people are not keeping to it.
Recommended daily salt quantity
“We were keeping to the safe range before now when Nigerians were mostly consuming our traditional foods. But now that we have embraced the western lifestyle and diet and consuming highly processed foods, things have changed. That is one of the reasons the indices for hypertension are higher now.
“The fact is that salt is one of the main things that is used to preserve most of the processed foods and many people eat this processed food because more people eat outside the home.
“We are now having more cases of hypertension in younger people. There have been more cases of hypertension in people between the age of 20 and 35, whereas the condition used to be seen in the elderly in the past.
“Aside from hypertension, high salt intake is also responsible for other health conditions like congestive heart failure, fluid retention, and some kidney diseases because the kidney plays a big role in salt balance.
“And if you look at the increasing cases of hypertension and kidney problems we are having and the cost of managing and treating these conditions, then you will know that the nation urgently needs a policy on food. we need to urgently gravitate towards foods that are low in sodium. It must be seen as a public health issue,” he said.
Also speaking with PUNCH Healthwise, the immediate National Chairman of the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists , Dr. Kingsley Amibor, said results from several surveys have confirmed that daily salt intake among Nigerians is higher than what is recommended.
“For instance, a survey conducted in Nigeria involving participants from the various zones in the country revealed that overall daily intake of salt was higher than the daily average, with higher levels recorded among urban dwellers,” he said.
The clinical pharmacist said while sodium is an essential nutrient necessary for the maintenance of plasma volume, acid balance, transmission of nerve impulses, and normal cell function, excess sodium has been linked to serious adverse health outcomes, including increased high blood pressure.
Sodium is an essential nutrient necessary for the maintenance of plasma volume, acid-base balance, transmission of nerve impulses and normal cell function.
Amibor said there was a need for consumer awareness activities about the need for food outlets to reduce the salt in foods and meals and proper labeling of sodium content in food products.
“Government policies and strategies should create environments that enable the population to consume adequate quantities of safe and nutritious foods that make up a healthy diet including low salt.
“Improving dietary habits is an individual as well as societal responsibility. It demands a population-based, multisectoral, and culturally relevant approach.
“Key broad strategies for salt reduction include appropriate government fiscal policies and regulation to ensure food manufacturers and retailers produce healthier foods or make healthy products available and affordable.
“Additionally, there is a need for collaboration with the private sector to improve the availability and accessibility of low-salt products,” he said.
