Low Salt Diet Tips for a Healthier Heart

High blood pressure affects millions of Nigerians, and many do not know they have it. One of the biggest causes is eating too much salt. Salt is everywhere in our kitchens: in seasoning cubes, stews, snacks, bread and processed foods. Cutting back is one of the simplest and cheapest ways to protect your heart, brain and kidneys. These low salt diet tips will help your whole family eat less salt without losing flavour.

Why salt matters

Salt contains sodium. Too much sodium makes the body hold on to water, which increases the volume of blood and raises blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure damages the arteries and leads to stroke, heart attack, heart failure and kidney disease.

Reducing salt lowers blood pressure within weeks, especially in people who already have high blood pressure. It also helps blood pressure medicines work better.

How much salt is safe?

The World Health Organization recommends that adults eat less than 5 grams of salt a day. That is just under one level teaspoon, from all sources, including salt already in food. Children need even less.

Most people eat far more than this. Much of it comes from seasoning cubes and processed foods rather than the salt shaker.

Where salt hides

Common sources of salt in Nigerian diets include:

• Seasoning cubes and powders, which are very high in sodium
• Table salt added during cooking and at the table
• Processed and canned foods, such as sardines, corned beef and canned tomatoes
• Snacks, such as crisps, salted groundnuts, chin chin and plantain chips
• Bread, pastries and biscuits
• Instant noodles and their flavour sachets
• Smoked and dried fish, stockfish and dried crayfish
• Fast food, suya spice and restaurant meals

Most salt comes from seasoning and processed foods, not the salt shaker.

Low salt diet tips for cooking

• Use fewer seasoning cubes. Start by halving the number you use, then reduce further over time.

• Taste before adding salt. Many dishes already contain enough from other ingredients.

• Add salt at the end of cooking, when you can taste it, rather than at the start.

• Use natural flavours, such as onions, garlic, ginger, scent leaf, uziza, pepper, curry, thyme, nutmeg and lemon.

• Make your own spice mixes from ground crayfish, pepper and herbs, using small amounts of crayfish.

• Rinse canned foods, such as beans or vegetables, before use.

• Soak stockfish and dried fish well and discard the soaking water.

Low salt diet tips at the table and when shopping

• Remove the salt shaker from the dining table
• Read food labels and compare sodium or salt content
• Choose fresh meat and fish over processed products
• Buy unsalted groundnuts and snacks
• Limit instant noodles, or use only part of the flavour sachet
• When eating out, ask for less seasoning and avoid extra salt

Low salt diet tips: a four-week plan

Cutting salt suddenly can make food taste flat. A gradual plan works better:

• Week 1: remove the salt shaker from the table
• Week 2: use half your usual number of seasoning cubes
• Week 3: replace salty snacks with fruit or unsalted groundnuts
• Week 4: read labels and choose lower-salt bread and canned foods

By the end of the month, your taste will have started to adjust. Keep going. These low salt diet tips become easier with time.

Your taste will adjust

Food may taste bland at first. However, taste buds adapt within a few weeks. After that, many people find salty foods unpleasant. Reduce salt gradually so that the change is less noticeable.

Low salt diet tips for eating out

Restaurants, bukas and fast-food outlets often use a lot of seasoning. Choose grilled or boiled dishes over fried ones. Ask for less seasoning where possible. Avoid adding extra salt or seasoning sauce. Limit suya spice and pepper soup seasoning, which can be very salty. Eat more home-cooked meals, where you control the salt.

Potassium helps balance sodium

Foods rich in potassium help to lower blood pressure. Good sources include fruits such as bananas, oranges and pawpaw, vegetables such as spinach and tomatoes, and beans. However, people with kidney disease may need to limit potassium. Ask your doctor before increasing it.

HUBPHARM PHARMACIST’S NOTE
Potassium salt substitutes can be dangerous with some common blood pressure tablets, such as lisinopril, losartan and spironolactone, and with kidney disease. Check with a HubPharm pharmacist before you switch. Send us your medicine list, and we will tell you whether a substitute is safe for you or suggest other ways to add flavour.

Salt substitutes

Some salt substitutes  1  replace part of the sodium with potassium. They can help lower blood pressure in many people. However, they are not safe for everyone, especially people with kidney disease or those taking certain blood pressure medicines that raise potassium. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist before using them.

Checking your blood pressure

Blood pressure often has no symptoms, so the only way to know is to check it. Adults should have it checked at least once a year, and more often if it is high. A home blood pressure monitor  2  lets you see how lifestyle changes, including less salt, affect your readings. Record your readings and share them with your doctor.

How much difference does it make?

Reducing salt can lower blood pressure by a few points within weeks. That may sound small. However, across a whole population, small reductions prevent large numbers of strokes and heart attacks. For people with high blood pressure, less salt can mean fewer medicines or better control. Every reduction counts.

Making it a family habit

Salt habits are shared. Talk with the person who does most of the cooking. Agree to reduce seasoning cubes step by step. Teach children to enjoy natural flavours. Encourage street food vendors and caterers you use often to offer lower-salt options. Small changes across a household add up.

Children and salt

Children develop their taste preferences early. Do not add salt to baby foods. Limit salty snacks and instant noodles. Children who eat less salt are less likely to develop high blood pressure later in life.

Low salt and heart failure or kidney disease

People with heart failure or chronic kidney disease often need stricter salt limits. Too much salt can cause fluid build-up, swelling and breathlessness. Follow the advice of your doctor or dietitian.

Reading food labels for salt

Many packaged foods show sodium rather than salt. To estimate salt, multiply sodium by 2.5. For example, 400 mg of sodium equals about 1 gram of salt. As a rough guide, foods with more than 1.5 g of salt per 100 g are high in salt, and foods with 0.3 g or less are low. Compare similar products and choose the lower one. Reading labels is one of the most useful low salt diet tips for busy shoppers.

Low salt and older adults

Older adults are especially sensitive to salt, and their blood pressure often responds well to cutting back. However, very low salt diets can be risky for some older people taking water tablets. Make changes gradually and keep taking your medicines. Check your blood pressure regularly.

Myths about salt

“I sweat a lot in the heat, so I need extra salt.” Most people get more than enough salt from food, even in hot weather.

“Sea salt and pink salt are healthier.” They contain about the same amount of sodium as ordinary salt.

“If I do not add salt, I am not eating much.” Most salt comes from seasoning cubes and processed foods.

Street food and snacks

Roadside snacks such as suya, fried plantain chips and seasoned groundnuts are often very salty. Enjoy them occasionally and in small portions. Choose roasted corn, fresh fruit or unsalted groundnuts more often. These low salt diet tips still let you enjoy food on the go.

Getting help

These low salt diet tips can lower your blood pressure and protect your heart. Read more in our article on lifestyle changes for hypertension. For a home blood pressure monitor, advice on salt substitutes with your medicines or a review of your blood pressure treatment, message a HubPharm pharmacist or chat with Afiya on WhatsApp.

Medicines and products in this article

#	Medicine or product	What to know
1	Potassium salt substitutes Over the counter	Lower sodium, but not safe for everyone. Check first.
2	Home blood pressure monitor Over the counter	Shows how cutting salt lowers your readings over weeks.

 

To order any of these, or to ask a pharmacist a question first, message HubPharm on WhatsApp or visit hubpharmafrica.com. Prescription medicines are supplied against a valid prescription.

References

• World Health Organization. Sodium reduction: fact sheet.

• World Health Organization. Hypertension: fact sheet.

• NHS. Salt: the facts.

• NHS. High blood pressure (hypertension).