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SINGAPORE: Chicken biryani and milk fried fish soup are among Singaporeans’ favorite street vendor dishes. But guess which one has more salt.
It turns out that the clam chowder will exceed your daily salt limit.
According to the 2018 National Nutrition Survey, the average Singaporean consumes 9g of salt per day. This is almost double the 5g intake (just under a teaspoon) recommended by the World Health Organization and the Health Promotion Board (HPB).
Singapore’s salt consumption is also on par with countries such as China, England and the United States.
Salt adds flavor to foods, but too much in the diet can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure and an increased risk of stroke and kidney failure.
However, is it possible to have delicious low-salt meals?
China’s salt intake is among the highest in the world. Singapore is not far behind.
Talking Point host Rai Kannu, who has a family history of hypertension, tried consuming less than a teaspoon of salt a day for two weeks, to see if Singaporeans could reduce their daily salt intake.
Here are seven things he learned about salt along the way:
1. HE IS NOT NECESSARILY A VILLAIN
Salt, which is made up of sodium and chlorine, is the main dietary source of sodium, so the terms “salt” and “sodium” are often used interchangeably.
In 5 g of salt, the recommended daily intake, there would be 2,000 mg of sodium. And it is an essential part of the diet. Sodium helps transmit nerve impulses, keeps muscles working properly, and keeps body fluids in balance.
But too much sodium can lead to water retention in the body, which then increases blood volume and leads to high blood pressure (hypertension). This, in turn, will increase your risk of stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure.
2. HIDDEN IN SAUCES
Most of Singaporeans’ dietary sodium comes from sauces, dressings and condiments, according to William Chen, director of the Food Science and Technology Program at Nanyang Technological University.
A tablespoon of oyster sauce has about 500 mg of sodium, while the same amount of soy sauce has about 1,000 mg of sodium. And there is about 1,500 mg of sodium per tablespoon of fish sauce.
“When we cook a dish, we generally don’t measure how much we add, so all of these together contribute to the high level of sodium in the dishes,” said the professor.
The amount of sodium in each plate.
This is why “fish soup can look less oily” than dishes like mee goreng and Rice Thart, “But it actually contains a lot of sodium.”
3. EATING OUT THE SALT INTAKE
Since about 2011, the HPB has tried to educate Singaporeans on how to reduce their salt intake. But the “growing trend of going out to eat” has led to higher overall salt consumption, said Melissa Koh, senior manager at HPB (policy and strategy development).
HPB has the Healthier Food Program to partner with the food and beverage industry to provide lower calorie meals with the healthier choice symbol. But the statutory board could now go one step further.
“We are now looking at the need and feasibility of extending this to low sodium labels,” said Koh, who has been studying how to get food operators to reduce the level of sodium on their plates.
A booth labeled HPB for low calorie options.
4. LOW SODIUM SUBSTITUTES ARE AVAILABLE
HPB has also conducted trials with two “main” caterers. “Both, during the study period, switched to reduced sodium sauces and condiments,” quoted Koh, a nutritionist. “The reduction in sodium was significant: between 30 and 38 percent at all sites.”
He said that most consumers in the tests couldn’t tell the difference.
“(Among) those who could really taste the difference, some liked the low sodium taste, which means there is still that margin where foodservice operators can reduce their sodium without compromising taste,” he added. .
When Rai did a similar taste test, he didn’t notice any difference either.
The bowl of fried rice on the right has about 30 percent less sodium.
Low sodium salt has some of the sodium chloride removed and replaced with potassium chloride or other mineral salts, typically leaving it with 40 percent less sodium than regular salt, Koh explained.
It is safe for “the majority of the population,” although he noted: “People with kidney failure will need to be a little more careful because it increases the risk of hyperkalemia (too much potassium in the blood).”
5. AVOID HOME PROCESSED FOODS
Cooking at home helps control sodium in the diet, and consumers can guarantee this by sticking to unprocessed foods and avoiding fried foods, recommends sports and nutrition coach Aqilah Norazman, founder of Asian Meal Prep.
“Even when choosing vegetables, try as much as possible to go raw and minimize those that are cooked with a lot of broth … and a lot of sauce,” he said.
Aqilah Norazman with Talking Point host Rai Kannu.
He also recommends herbs, spices, and natural flavor enhancers, such as onions or chives, in place of salt.
“Even the healthiest foods contain a little sodium, so you don’t need to add more salt,” he said.
6. IS A SPOON REALLY THE LIMIT?
There are “definitely benefits” to maintaining the recommended level, said Lim Kiat, senior nutritionist at the Singapore Heart Foundation. Reducing global salt intake to less than 5 g per day could prevent 2.5 million deaths a year, he cited.
In Singapore, nearly one in four residents ages 30 to 69, and more than half of those ages 60 to 69, have hypertension, he noted.
Lim Kiat helps clients of the Singapore Heart Foundation improve their diets.
“Hypertension is a silent killer, which means that it does not cause any symptoms even when the condition is severe,” he added.
“Hypertension is one of the key risk factors for cardiovascular disease. It affects around one in three deaths in Singapore ”.
7. TWO WEEKS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Dr. Tan and Partners Medical Director Julian Ng, who tracked Rai’s health markers before and after the latter’s two-week regimen, said that a low-salt diet primarily helps prevent the development of pressure problems. instead of improving blood pressure.
For example, Rai’s blood pressure, which was always normal, did not change. But his level of aldosterone, a hormone that helps regulate blood pressure, nearly doubled due to his lower salt intake.
NOTE: A 2 Week Low Sodium Diet: Can I Live On 1 Teaspoon Of Salt A Day? (22:12)
With the increase, your body keeps your blood pressure and heart rate under control. “You obviously don’t want wild fluctuations,” Ng said.
However, a long-term high-salt diet would “signal the body” to establish a “new normal.”
“And over time, due to increasing age and all the various factors, the body would try to reset the blood pressure point,” he added. “In fact, it starts to increase.”
Check out this episode of Talking Point here. The program is broadcast on Channel 5 every Thursday at 9:30 p.m.
