Excessive salt intake in foods can cause heart disease and stroke. The World Health Organization on Wednesday issued a directive to reduce the amount of sodium in the diet. According to one report, an estimated 11 million deaths worldwide each year are caused by poor diet. Of these, 3 million are 3 million cases of high sodium intake in their diet. In many rich countries and low-income countries, people use manufactured food products, the WHO said. Dairy products such as bread, cereals, processed meats and cheese. It uses a lot of sodium.
What did WHO say?
Sodium chloride is the chemical name of salt and sodium is a mineral which controls the amount of water in the body. Regarding sodium intake, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "A plan should be drawn up to reduce salt intake and provide people with better dietary options."
He added that the food and beverage industry needs to reduce the amount of sodium in processed foods. The WHO has set a new benchmark for 64 foods. Through this, the officials of 194 member countries will be made aware. So that they can monitor food and beverage companies.
How much salt to eat?
For example, every 100 grams of potato chips should contain 500 mg of sodium. According to the benchmark, pies and pastries should contain 120 mg of sodium and meat 360 mg of sodium. The WHO said: 'Eating too much sodium raises blood pressure. It also increases the risk of heart disease.
What diseases occur?
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the WHO. It causes 32% of deaths worldwide. Excessive sodium intake leads to life threatening diseases like obesity, kidney related diseases and gastric cancer. The WHO recommends that people should consume less than 5 grams of sodium per day.