Controlling salt intake and avoiding excessive salt intake are important health promotion measures. In 2006, the World Health Organization suggested that the daily salt intake of each person should be controlled below 5 grams. Considering that the daily salt intake of China residents is generally high, the 2007 Dietary Guidelines for China residents suggested that the daily salt intake of adults should not exceed 6 grams.

First, it causes high blood pressure. Scientific research shows that people with high salt intake have a high risk of hypertension. Excessive salt intake is prone to hypertension and hyperlipidemia. As for blood pressure, the increase of salt will also increase blood pressure. Excessive intake can lead to high blood pressure, and the older you get, the greater the harm. Eating too much salt every day will also increase the risk of gastric cancer.

Studies show that people who eat 20 grams of salt a day are 70 times more likely to suffer from high blood pressure than those who eat 6 grams of salt a day.

Second, kidney diseases High-salt diet is closely related to osteoporosis, asthma and kidney diseases. Excessive salt intake will increase the burden on the kidneys, and in the long run, it will damage renal function.

Third, promoting atherosclerosis Eating too much salt will not only lead to high blood pressure, but also increase plasma cholesterol content and cause atherosclerosis.

A high-salt diet is very common in China. According to the survey of nutrition and health status of residents in China in 2002, the average daily salt intake of urban and rural residents in China was 12g, far exceeding the recommended intake. Because of the long-term habit of high salt, controlling salt intake is easier said than done.

Four measures to reduce salt intake:

1. Use a salt spoon: the capacity of a salt spoon is fixed (2g per spoon, just the amount of a meal for one person), so that the salt intake can be well grasped.

2. It is recommended to use low sodium salt: low sodium salt means that the sodium content in salt is relatively low. Generally, the content of sodium is 30% higher than that of salt (the content of potassium is obviously increased), but its salinity is basically the same as that of salt, so the amount of salt used for cooking remains unchanged, but it can reduce the intake of sodium and achieve the fundamental purpose of limiting the intake of salt.

3. reduce? Hide salt? Intake: Hidden salt is the salt intake that we can't usually see, such as soy sauce, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, chicken essence, shrimp skin, shredded squid, preserved plum, beef jerky and so on. Some processed foods, such as biscuits, bread, snacks, dried noodles, instant noodles, etc. None of them are obviously salty, but the sodium content is not low, which is also considered as a hidden salt.

4. Change behavior habits: High salt intake is often related to bad eating habits, so changing bad eating habits is also the key to limiting salt intake.