Salt was implicated in 2.3 million deaths in the world in 2010 due to heart attacks and other heart diseases , 40% of them premature, according to an international study carried out by 488 scientists in 50 countries around the world and released at an epidemiology meeting of the American Heart Association. Not surprisingly, 75 percent of the world’s population consumes almost twice the recommended daily amount of sodium (salt).
According to research, sodium intake through prepared foods, table salt, and seasonings like soy sauce added when cooking averaged close to 4,000 mg per day in 2010 . The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting sodium to less than 2,000 mg per day and the American Heart Association advises reducing sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg per day, especially in those over fifty at risk of hypertension.
Of the largest countries in the world, the study reveals that those with the most deaths from salt consumption were Ukraine (2,109), Russia (1,803) and Egypt (836). At the opposite extreme, those with the fewest cases of deaths from excess sodium were Qatar (73), Kenya (78) and the United Arab Emirates (134).
To reduce sodium intake, the American Heart Association recommends avoiding “the salty 6” in the diet , a name that groups together six types of foods with plenty of salt: salty bread and pastries, cured meats and cold meats, pizzas, sandwiches and hamburgers, canned soup, and roast chicken and its derivatives. In addition, it is advisable not to consume those products whose labeling shows a sodium content greater than 200 mg of sodium per serving.
