Liberty Medical Scheme supports government’s measures to curb salt intake
On 17 May, World Hypertension Day, worldwide the spotlight once again falls on the silent killer: high blood pressure and hypertension, an affliction which affects one out of every four South African adults and may ultimately result in death.
“As high dietary salt intake is estimated to cause about a third of all hypertension cases and is also responsible for illnesses such as stroke and kidney disease, to mention but a few, Liberty Medical Scheme firmly subscribes to Government’s measures to reduce the salt intake of all South Africans,” says Andrew Edwards, Executive Principal Officer for Liberty Medical scheme.
“Fact is: the healthier people are – physically and mentally – the better they are equipped to deal with the strains and stresses of everyday life, remain economically active and productive, and contribute to a stable society and country. More importantly, staying healthy is an excellent form of insurance against the high costs of medical treatment,” says Edwards.
An active proponent of healthy living, Liberty Medical Scheme recently joined forces with well-known, high-profile fitness and wellness expert, Lisa Raleigh, as the scheme’s wellness ambassador.
Raleigh also cautions against the negative effects of excessive salt. “We increase our blood pressure with every mouthful, subjecting ourselves to the scary side-effects of heart disease, hypertension, strokes, vascular dementia and kidney failure.”
Edwards adds that stark salt statistics speak for themselves: while the World Health Organisation (WHO) target is 5 grams of salt per day, South Africans, on average, consume 8-9 grams of salt per day. Invariably this increases the risk of elevated blood pressure which is a major risk for heart disease and stroke – the number one cause of death and disability globally, and third leading cause of death in South Africa, with 2,3 of stroke victims permanently disabled.
Edwards refers to the recent International Public Health Conference of School of Public Health, where Prof Karen Hofman, a proponent of a population based salt reduction strategy for South Africa, pointed out that “population wide salt reduction is critical to live a longer and a more healthy life.”
Prof Hofman stressed that the proposed regulation will not only save lives, but also R300m annually in hospital costs. In fact, reducing salt by 0.85 grams per day in processed food, mainly bread, will have the same impact as first line drugs.
Edwards concurs with Prof Hofman that salt reduction in processed food is a high impact and cost effective measure to reduce hypertension and subsequent stroke, which ultimately stands to benefit the entire nation and region.
The WHO has released new guidelines on dietary salt and potassium to reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). According to the new guidelines, adults should consume less than 2.000 mg (2 grams) of sodium, or 5 grams of salt and at least 3.510 mg (3.51 grams) of potassium per day.
Director of the World Health Organisation’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, Dr Francesco Branca, also warned that a person with either elevated sodium levels or low potassium levels could be at risk of raised blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
Dr Branca added that the guidelines also make recommendations for children over the age of two, noting that this was critical because children with elevated blood pressure often become adults with elevated blood pressure.
According to research, 6 500 lives can be saved if salt intake is reduced. The South African diet is generally high in salt content, with the population’s salt intake averaging 8 grams a day.
Sodium is found naturally in a variety of foods, including milk, cream and eggs. It is also found in much higher amounts in processed foods such as bread, processed meats like bacon, snack foods, cheese puffs and popcorn, as well as in condiments such as soy sauce and stock cubes.
Concludes Edwards: “Liberty Medical Scheme is firmly behind health minister Aaron Motsoaledi in his drive for preventiveinstead of curative care, therefore the scheme fully supports government’s measures to ensure a reduction of salt intake by all South Africans.”
