Sodium is an important nutrient required by the body to maintain fluid balance and to provide channels for nerve signaling.
Over-consumption of sodium is much more common than deficiencies (which can occur in cases like excessive vomiting and diarrhea) and is often associated with high blood pressure.
WHO recommendation is not more than 2000mg /day but on average Malaysians consume more than 2500mg/day or about 8.7g salt/day.
That's a lot. We consumed a lot more salt than we are supposed to.
And this habit is also reflected in our health statistics where 33% of Malaysians are hypertensive (NHMS 2015).
Maybe we don't deliberately swallow a spoonful of salt but most of the sodium we consumed is hidden and from processed food.
In this study of 1047 Malaysians, it was found that these high sodium foods are the ones most consumed:
- Fried vegetables
- Bread
- Omelet
Are you surprised as I am? These foods are not even what we would consider salty.
Food
item
|
Sodium
content (mg) per 100 gram of food
|
Jacob’s cream crackers
|
466.66
|
Nestle Koko Krunch
|
195.00
|
KFC nuggets
|
0.456
|
McDonald’s nuggets
|
0.811
|
McDonald’s fries
|
1.322
|
Kueh Teow Goreng Penang
|
492.00
|
Mee Sup
|
302.47
|
Mee Goreng
|
653.71
|
Chicken Frankfurter
|
1370.00
|
Keropok ikan goreng
|
737.22
|
Keropok kentang (potato chips)
|
711.11
|
Fried rice
|
445.23
|
Nasi lemak
|
338.51
|
Nasi Briyani
|
267.49
|
Fried Meehoon
|
424.02
|
Okay say for example you don't eat out a lot or don't take processed food, don't take a lot of salt but your BP is still sky-high.
Where does the sodium come from?
The many sauces that we Malaysians loved SO MUCH!
Beware of soy sauce, chili, tomato, oyster, fish sauce, and all other condiments. They have a high amount of sodium!
What are the regularly consumed foods that are high in sodium?
- Salted fish
- Salted egg
- Stock cubes
- Bread
- Salted snacks/kerepek
My number 1 guilty pleasure. What's yours? |
Things You Can Do To Reduce Your Sodium Intake:
- avoiding canned foods
- avoiding pickled food
- choosing low sodium cheeses
- substituting herbs and other spices in place of salt
- limit processed foods intake
Educate yourselves and always always read nutrition labels to make informed choices.
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