Medical App & Medical Advice with Hello Doctor

Tricks to help you reduce your salt intake

Reducing your salt intake can be as easy as switching brands. Always check labels when shopping, and compare the sodium content of different brands and choose the one with the least amount of sodium. Look out for foods with the Heart Mark – these products have less sodium compared to other products and this lets you know it’s been approved as part of a heart healthy diet.

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Salt: Knowledge is power

Salt is often added to packaged or processed foods as a preservative or for flavour. Sometimes these foods don’t even taste particularly salty. For example, bread, cereals, hard/block margarines, gravy and soup powders, processed meat products like sausage, polony and pies, meat and vegetable extracts, and convenience meals are just some of the products containing hidden salt that can contribute to our salt intake. Of course, this means that your salt intake can be really high without you even knowing it. Stay one step ahead of hidden salt by reading product labels. Here’s a quick “how-to-guide” on understanding food label information. Continue reading “Salt: Knowledge is power”

How hypertension is hitting South Africa

When it comes to hypertension, there are many risk factors which work together to put an individual at risk. Besides family history and genetics, unhealthy lifestyle factors such as poor diet, being overweight or obese, smoking and being physically inactive, are major problems in South Africa, and increase the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, according to Dr Mungal-Singh, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa.

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Salt: Getting to the heart of the matter

In very small amounts, pure salt is essential, and maintains the mineral balance in literally every cell in your body. It also works to regulate fluid balances and promote proper circulation, and assist with nerve impulse and muscle contraction. Too much salt, however, can be fatal and is closely linked to serious health conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

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Warning! Salt added

Preventative health has been the top health trend for a number of years now, and it’s all about “prevention is better than cure” – so basically, avoiding getting sick or ill in the first place. Your health is one of the few things in life that you are in control of, and everything you eat and drink, or don’t eat and drink has a direct effect on your body and its ability to continue functioning in top form. When it comes to food, salt is one thing that many people eat too much of, often without even realising it.
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3 Saltiest foods – and their healthy counterparts

Surprisingly, most of the salt you eat doesn’t come from your salt-shaker – it’s already added to pre-cooked, processed or restaurant food before you sprinkle any extra at the table. With that in mind, and with so much focus on making people aware of the dangers of eating too much salt, we take a look at the top 3 saltiest foods and their healthier substitutes you can try instead.

1. Processed and cold deli meats

Just 6 thin slices of cold meat can contain half of your daily sodium limit.

Rather eat: Home-cooked chicken, avocado, rocket and fresh vegetables as healthy sandwich fillings. If you can’t resist cold meats, check the label and make sure they’re low-sodium.

2. Bread, rolls and bagels

Most breads are actually quite high in salt, and while a slice here and there won’t hurt you – if you eat sandwiches every day then this food group will make up a big portion of your daily diet and sodium intake.

Substitute: Some breads are lower-sodium than others, so check the nutritional label or ask the baker if you aren’t sure which breads are better.

3. Pizza

It’s made up of a salty bread base, tomato sauce, cheese and toppings such as salami and olives – all of which are high in salt.

Substitute: If you’re going to have pizza, keep it for special occasions – and opt for low-fat vegetable toppings such as eggplant, fresh peppers, mushrooms and caramelised onions. Also look to see if there is a “slimmer’s” option – which means there’s no cheese added. And before you say “if it doesn’t have cheese it’s not pizza”, think again – it’s tasty and practically guilt-free!

The Snack Trap

When it comes to holidays and festive occasions, there always seems to be bowls of chips, nuts or other salty snacks around. If you’re going to be hosting lunches or dinners this season, then set the bar with these healthy snack alternatives:

  • Vegetable sticks and healthy dips: Think carrots, celery and cucumber sticks with hummus, yoghurt and cucumber dips
  • Red and yellow pepper strips, sliced baby marrows, baby corn & cherry tomatoes on a platter
  • Dried fruit such as raisins, apples and apricots, and unsalted almonds and walnuts.