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A recent study by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) has found that salt intake among adult Indians is high and exceeds the levels recommended by the WHO. The study found that salt intake in Delhi and Haryana was 9.5 g per day and 10.4 g per day in Andhra Pradesh.

High dietary salt intake has detrimental effects on blood pressure and can lead to cardiovascular diseases, over time. Restricting salt in the diet can lower the risk of developing heart disease by 25% and that of dying from heart complications by 20%. An adult must not consume more than 5 g salt in a day, recommends the WHO. Researchers and policy-makers around the world stress on reducing salt intake to control hypertension because its key triggers — stress and faulty lifestyle-are difficult to control. Some tips from HCFI:

• Substitute white salt with black salt
• Do not keep salt shaker on the table
• Do not add salt in your food except in pulses and cooked vegetables
• Do not add salt to salads
• Avoid adding salt to foods at the table Take stock of the sources of salt in your diet like restaurant meals, salt-based condiments and convenience foods. Some of these are really loaded with salt
• Read the labels when shopping
• To cook with reduced salt, one can add more lemon, garlic and amchur (mango powder).