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| By Ng Hooi Lin |
| Nutritionist, Singapore Heart Foundation |
| 请点击：降低钠，有心不难 |
| Many of us eat much more sodium than we ought to. The average Singaporean takes 3527mg of sodium a day when in fact, an average healthy adult requires no more than 2000mg of sodium a day. |
| That means a typical Singaporean is consuming 76% more than what he or she should on a daily basis! |
| So what’s wrong with reaching for the salt shaker? |
| A diet high in sodium increases the risk of developing high blood pressure, a condition that ails over 1.5 billion people worldwide and that causes some 7 billion deaths every year. |
| High blood pressure is also the single biggest risk factor for heart disease, stroke and kidney failure and is commonly known as the “silent killer” as there are often no known symptoms until it’s too late. Reducing salt intake has been shown to reduce high blood pressure. |
| You may be thinking to yourself, “How do I cut down on salt? Won’t my food taste bland?” Fret not, here are some practical ways to reduce the sodium in your diet without compromising taste: |
| Shopping for food |
| Buy fresh |
| Always buy fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned or salted vegetables, as fresh vegetables are naturally low in sodium. |
| Don’t can it! |
| Compared to the fresh alternatives, canned meat, including fish or chicken, sausages, luncheon meat, ham, bacon etc are higher in sodium. Eat them less often. |
| Read the labels |
| When buying processed food, do read food labels to make sure you choose those lower in sodium. You may be surprised to learn that 100g of chocolate chip breakfast cereal contains 480mg of sodium. |
| Occasional snacks |
| Snacks such as potato chips, prawn crackers, salted nuts etc are high in salt and should not be your “everyday” food. Take these snacks occasionally. |
| Dining out |
| Less gravy, please! |
| Ask for less or no gravy when ordering economic rice. This will help you cut down on the sodium as well as fat. |
| Don’t finish that soup |
| It is good not to finish all the soup when eating soupy noodles. |
| Preserve it not |
| Limit dishes that are cooked with ikan bilis, salted eggs, salted vegetables, Sichuan vegetables, sausages, luncheon meat etc. |
| Plain is good |
| Enjoy plain rice more often than flavoured rice such as nasi briyani. |
| Sauce-less |
| Use condiments such as soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, barbeque sauce sparingly. |
| Cooking at home |
| Taste first |
| Taste the food before adding salt or sauces when cooking. |
| Use nature’s food enhancers |
| Dishes prepared with parsley, coriander, onion, garlic, onion, shallot, spring onion etc can be very delicious. |
| Pure vegetable oils |
| Use pure vegetable oils such as canola or peanut oil instead of butter or margarine for cooking. |
| Incorporate these suggestions bit by bit in the way you buy food, eat out or cook at home and your body will adjust gradually to eating less sodium-rich foods. |
| Back to Nutrition Tips |
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