Tailoring your salt intake

Posted on 25 March 2015

We all know that there should be at least some salt in a healthy diet, but how much is that exactly? And if we’re trying to tailor our intake to cater to a low-salt diet, what’s the best way to do that? Ilsabé Spoelstra, a dietician from Mediclinic Bloemfontein, gives her top tips.

What is the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for salt in a healthy diet?
There’s still a lot of debate around what the RDA of salt in our daily diet should be. In South Africa we recommend a salt RDA of 2,3g per day – just under a teaspoonful. In America the average daily salt intake is 3,4g per day.

Which commonly eaten South African foods contain hidden salt and should be avoided?
Our diets are made up of a number of foodstuffs that contain hidden salt, so before you buy them, read their labels to see how much salt they contain! The top high-salt foods are:
• Salami and processed meats
• Jars of spices and herbs
• Bacon
• Biltong and droëwors, when eaten to excess
• Potato chips and other salty snacks like pretzels and salted popcorn
• Pickles and olives, when eaten to excess
• Soya sauce
• Packets of soup powder and ready made stocks

In terms of flavouring food, instead of using salt, are there other alternatives you can suggest? Do you have a top five?
Absolutely! My favourite salt replacers are:
• Basil
• Turmeric
• Onions
• Black and white pepper
• Cloves
• Garlic works well – if you don’t mind garlic breath

The information provided in this article was correct at the time of publishing. At Mediclinic we endeavour to provide our patients and readers with accurate and reliable information, which is why we continually review and update our content. However, due to the dynamic nature of clinical information and medicine, some information may from time to time become outdated prior to revision.