SALT OR TOBACCO- WHICH IS THE GREATER VILLAIN?

For quite some time in the past alarm bells were ringing regarding the potential health risks posed by intake of salts beyond a certain limit and it is universally accepted that high salt can be injurious causing life threatening disorders like CVD, Blood Pressure and Kidney damage. Where there is no unanimity is regarding how much salt consumption can be dangerous. The problem is further complicated by the relative consumption of processed foods compared to home cooked products which vary from country to country. While there can be "forced" restrictions on salt content in processed products turned out by the industry, how can any meaningful reduction of salt can be achieved in the home cooked foods as well as on the dining tables across the world?. According to the latest reports emanating from British scientists, salt can be as dangerous as tobacco smoking and there must be global action to curtail salt consumption to save precious lives of people where ever they are and the UN system is being implored to take a pro-active role in this health protecting endeavor.

"Writing in the British Medical Journal they say a 15% cut in consumption could save 8.5 million lives around the world over the next decade. The report says practical steps to reduce consumption should be drawn up without delay. If voluntary measures do not work, the food industry should be compelled to cut salt levels, it says. The report - by researchers at the Universities of Warwick and Liverpool - says that after cutting tobacco consumption, getting people to eat less salt would be the most cost effective way to improve global health. The researchers say there is a "consistent, direct relation between salt intake and blood pressure". High blood pressure in turn is linked to heart disease, stroke and kidney problems. They point to the US, where cutting salt intake by a third would save tens of thousands of lives and save up to $24 billion annually in health care costs. But with 70% of deaths from strokes and heart attacks occurring in developing countries, the report says the impact of reduced intake would be global".

No doubt any meaningful action taken in this regard requires global cooperation and an agency like WHO under the UN system is eminently suited to take the much needed initiative. Probably even WTO could be brought into the picture for imposing a ban on trading in foods containing salt beyond a limit agreed upon. Mean while it is time R & D efforts are accelerated to evolve suitable and affordable salt "equivalents" that can be safe for humans, for use by the industry as well as at home.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com